Trauma
by F i t z - C a t s b y
Summary: There was a hole in Hiruzen Momoko that Konoha had carved, and on her worst mornings, she could barely stomach the symbol on her forehead protector. The things that had been lost, the people that had been lost. Kaksahi/OC Canon-ish
1. Hideous Sweaters

"Hiruzen-san, you do not have a say in this-"

It took her a long time to become a good surgeon.

"You do not have any privileges in this area!"

It took her a very, very long time to become this.

"HIRUZEN!"

The corner of her eye twitched slightly, and under her pale surgical mask one could see the smallest smile curve her lips.

"That's it, someone get this scrub out of my OR!"

Dark cerulean merely blinked as the monitors began to beep quickly and, so suddenly, flatline, as this _scrub_'_s_ hands paused for not two seconds before, "He's in defib. Get me the paddles."

"OI-"

"Oi! Newbie! Do you even know who Hiruzen is?! She's-"

It took her a very long time to be in this Operating Room.

The man who had been yelling frowned deeply, a hard scowl contorting his tanned face. His eyes were on the back of this Hiruzen woman, studying her bony build with a hard eye. This resident, this pompous girl thought she had the authority…! One could practically see steam billowing from his reddening ears.

"OUT OF MY OR, HIRUZEN-!"

The monitors slowly returned to their normal rhythm, and dark blue eyes closed for just a second. Heaving a sigh, Hiruzen Momoko held her hands before her as she turned to the exit, "He's stable," took a few light steps and made eye contact with the yelling _boar_ before her.

Swallowing, "it's your OR now, Yumeo-san-"

"You're damn sure that I'm reporting this to the Chief-"

It took her a long time.

Peeling her gloves patiently, Hiruzen Momoko walked cleanly out of the room, going to rinse. As she placed her dry hands under the faucet, she felt the anger of Yumeo hovering in the previous room. Removing her mint green surgical cap, she turned to the OR to see conversation, to see Yumeo, the new resident and the guy who was about to perform his first solo surgery, widen his beady brown eyes. She watched as he turned to gaze at her dark blue eyes and even darker burgundy hair with a horrified look on his face.

Momoko knew what it was.

It took Hiruzen Momoko a long time to become chief of trauma at this Shinobi Hospital.

**/~/**

It was required of all staff to wear their forehead protector at all times. Each and every individual in that building had been meticulously hand-picked from a board certified personnel. Each employee at this facility had their own job and had their own responsibilities. Each and every shinobi in this hospital was trusted with the lives of thousands that came through those heavy double doors.

**/~/**

"Hiruzen, we have two nin who are about thirty minutes out with severe head trauma, a possible crush injury, and I was told a mangled limb or two."

There was a fallen tree a few yards away from trauma's doors, and Momoko, as usual, was perched on the thick trunk. Each day, it was easy to find her there on her lunch hour, knitting or reading or feeding the strays that approached the hospital. Every day the resident that was put on Momoko's service would know to find her there at lunch. Momoko was a routine woman, and routine was comfortable for most of her residents.

Lifting her eyes to the figure before her, Momoko nodded infinitesimally.

"Thank you for notifying me, Kirin."

Kirin Tor, the speaking figure, smirked as she watched the woman go back to her sweater.

"You're pretty bad at that," Kirin acknowledged, a dry edge to her voice.

"Yeah. I guess."

Hiruzen Momoko, for the most part, was a quiet woman. She didn't really fight much with her colleagues, which was a very difficult thing to do here at this hospital. Kirin watched this woman, this woman from Konohagakure, knit a horrendous sweater to pass the time before she had her hands deep in someone else's body.

"Are all Konoha nin this terrible at knitting?"

"Are all Iwa kunoichi this crass?"

Momoko smiled as Kirin snorted, and as her friend sat beside her, she let her mind slowly clear itself. Kirin, on the other hand, continued to watch her long-time friend. Sometimes she envied Momoko's long red hair; she could tell it was silky and effortless. She envied her skill, she envied her smile, and most of all, Kirin envied Momoko's effortless work ethic.

"Where did you learn, Momo?"

Not glancing from her work, Momoko merely 'hummed' in inquiry. Kirin sighed, turning away from the jealously.

She did not envy Hiruzen Momoko for her skill.

"You were a disciple of the great Tsunade-hime, were you not?"

At this, Kirin could hear Momoko stop in her work, the crochet needles clanking together no more. Kirin's green eyes found Momoko's staring at her hideous creation.

"Briefly."

Frowning at her curt reply, Kirin pushed. "Briefly? What I wouldn't give to be her student!"

Silence met her outburst, and when Kirin didn't receive a reply, she grunted rudely. "Ungrateful-"

"The trauma's close." Hiruzen Momoko was already standing, gazing beyond the tall trees surrounding the hospital. She started to walk briskly, a pit growing in her stomach. Each and every time, there was a pit. "Let's get ready."

"Oi, Hiruzen! One day I'm going to get you to tell me what she's like!"

And as the doors closed on her, Hiruzen Momoko pulled the deepest frown, just for a second.

**/~/**

Despite her taking leave from Konoha, Momoko still wore the clothes of her village. When she wasn't in her scrubs, she wore the dark blue, long-sleeved shirts that most Jōnin wore. She wore the dark blue pants, and she wore the green flak jacket with Uzushiogakure's red swirl on the back. She was still a Konoha nin, despite her distance from the village. Yet, her distance was not solely physical. Emotionally, Konoha stole something that Momoko could never regain.

There was a hole in the woman that Konoha had carved, and on her worst mornings, she could barely stomach the symbol on her forehead protector.

And on those rare, post-traumatic days, Momoko would remember what it felt like to hold a ninja's life in her hands. She would remember the feel of their warm sticky blood as the only thought that flew through her mind was _get through the mission. _

On those rare days, Momoko would remember Hatake Kakashi.

**/~/**

She knocked three times on the wooden door before there was an affirmative.

Pulling the door open, Hiruzen Momoko stepped inside the Chief of Medicine's office, placing her hand on the back of her neck. Heaving a breath, "Chief," and she plopped down in the plush chair before her.

The Chief of Medicine was the very top of the chain; he was the man who ran the hospital, the man who ran the political madness of this mad, mad place, and the man that made sure that his surgeons, staff, and people would not murder one another.

"Hiruzen."

Momoko was a small person. She had a small bone structure, a small build, and a small face. She had a small, quiet mouth and a small button nose.

"What do you need."

Her voice, however, was not.

The Chief, a middle-aged man with a killer smile and a balding scalp, a good-sized paunch of a belly, and soft eyes, stared at the woman before him. Hiruzen Momoko, his go-to trauma woman. His most level surgeon and his most loyal subordinate.

"You are due in Konoha."

Silence. It wasn't cold, stony, or heavy. It was mere silence that filled the space and made the chief's soft eyes slowly narrow at Momoko's placid form. She sat with her back straight as a board, posture perfect with her legs crossed and her hands folded neatly on her lap.

"I see."

Sighing, the Chief placed his forehead in his hand, the metal of his hitai-ate cold against his palm. "You haven't checked in years, Hiruzen. You know the rules. It is required of each member on this staff to go to their village of origin for two weeks every five years. I've let you slip through the cracks for ten years!"

"I know."

Frowning slightly, Momoko let her blue eyes fade as she once again inhaled and exhaled slowly, calming and clearing her mind.

Konoha meant… faces.

Her posture slacked and she let her back slump.

"It's a political maneuver, Hiruzen. You know that." The Chief's tone was softer this time.

She nodded, bobbing her red hair that had been tied back.

"I know."

Yet her lips could only keep sinking.

**/~/**

Each and every individual in this hospital must go to their village of origin every five years for two weeks' time. During that time they will complete their duty for their village and become not just medics in their residing hospitals, but become Shinobi yet again. They will serve for two weeks, learn techniques from their absence, and complete the required number of hours in their respective hospitals. During this time, they will have mandatory updates with their respective Kage. Their Kage will evaluate if their Shinobi and medic will return to the Shinobi Hospital to continue their work, or if they see their Shinobi is not fit to return.

**/~/**

_"My name is Nohara Rin! It's very nice to meet you, Hiruzen-san."_

_"I'm Uchiha Obito, and I'm going to be Hokage someday!"_

_"…Hatake Kakashi."_

"_Guy-san, not so fast! I'm no good at this!"  
__"The power of youth says to run more, Momoko!"_

"_Shizune-san… I'm learning medicine."  
__"That's great, Momo-san!"_

She could hear their voices as she placed her mint green cap on her hair. She had tied it in a tight bun to keep the strands away from her face. In the OR, a patient with severe crush injuries waited. Her patient waited for his chest to return to normal, for it not to have been sunken in because a massive pressure had been applied.

Hiruzen Momoko could hear the ghosts in her head as she stepped in, let her scrub nurses gown her and glove her. She could hear their voices as she turned for a moment and connected her eyes with the Chief's form.

He was in the hall with another patient that laid on a gurney. The Chief of Medicine in the trauma wing, about to work on a trauma patient all for the sake of her going home.

_Home._

Ridiculous, she thought, as she watched them rush the patient to OR two.

As she watched, Momoko realized an absence. The absence of her pit, down in her belly. Without the pit, Momoko was not fit to operate. "Hiruzen-san?" Something wasn't right. The Chief of Medicine had no business in her trauma wing.

"…zen-san?"

Her feet were moving quicker than she processed, and before she knew it she was in the hall, hands still before her as if she were about to delve them deep inside her patient's crushed, slick body. She was running, sprinting even, and she hadn't even realized that she had cried out until the Chief had stopped, turned back to yell at her for contaminating herself when she felt the pressure. Everyone felt it, and as everyone's faces turned back to the gurney, Momoko couldn't help but feel as if the world were in slow motion. She felt as if everything were in slow motion as the patient's belly slowly lit up, and the tags became visible. Her words, though, ever so strong and voice ever so steady, were the first thing to fill the thick air.

_"Explosives!"_

The ward was overcome with an overbearing light, and then a darkness.


	2. Chest Craters

**Trauma**  
_A Naruto fic_

* * *

"How the hell did this happen?"

"What was the Chief doing there?!"

"It was Trauma's wing!"

Five specific, talented medics had gathered in one of the spare conference rooms, panic induced.

"Trauma, speak up!"

_Cardiothoracic._

"What happened out there…"

_Orthopedic._

"Please, everyone, let's try to remain calm."

_Psychology_.

Five brilliant, talented medics with their own specialty.

Hiruzen "Trauma" Momoko sat with her palm to her hitai-ate, using the oak conference table for support. Her blue eyes clouded with the smoke, the light, the smell of burning flesh-

"Let her gather herself for just a moment-"

"Rikiri… we need to think of something…"

Hamase "Neuro" Rikiri sighed heavily before letting his hand fall to Momoko's shoulder, gently squeezing her strained muscles. His Kumogakure hitai-ate rested on his bicep. The room was quite large with oval windows and shuttered shades. It was a simple conference room, filled with five medics, five _ninja _who had no idea what had happened.

Fujimoto "Cardio" Eito slammed his palms to the hefty table, a deep scowl painting his pale face. "Hiruzen, how the hell did those explosives get into your wing!"

His navy hitai-ate glinted as the setting sun shone through the massive windows, revealing a harsh Kirigakure symbol branded into metal. Yet as his hard words filled the air between all five Shinobi, Momoko remained silent. Her long, red hair was tied in a high knot, her mint green surgical cap resting on the table before her.

_"Explosives!"_

Sighing, the woman shook her head over and over, at a sudden loss.

Across the table, Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri tapped a single digit to her forehead protector which flaunted a worn Iwagakure symbol.

"Don't forget that we learned how to be Shinobi first, medics second, Momo-chan," her voice was dry, matching the sardonic smile curling her lips.

This caused a new wave of shouting from the Shinobi, save for one Trauma Chief of Konoha. Even Hashimoto "Psych" Naota threw in his two cents, and he was the understanding psychologist of Sunagakure, her best political ally. Yet the only thing Momoko could remember was that patient in her OR, who lay open on the table with her residents keeping him alive.

Her chair screeched against the floor as she made her way to stand, her delicate fingers grasping for her cap. Taking a deep breath, she opened her dark cyan eyes to her four colleagues.

"If this was a targeted assault, trauma was most likely hit because it is the most essential wing to a first response center. Patients are stabilized and then sent off to whichever specialty from trauma. Also, trauma is the most difficult to train for."

Her voice was calm and slow, deliberate and steady. It quickly grabbed the attention of her cohorts, then which she continued, "It just so happened that the Chief was in my wing, freshening up on my patients for my departure. If this was a targeted assault on trauma, whoever was responsible just got lucky that they took out our very own Chief of Medicine as well."

And three other medics that had been trained specifically for trauma care.

Thick silence ensued Momoko's evaluation. She didn't feel any more calmed, any more stable than the rest.

Pivoting to the door, "I have a man open on my table with a crater for a chest. I'd like to get back to my job. The Chief is stable. If you want to see him, ask Neuro to lift the genjutsu. I'm not in charge here."

And with that, Momoko left the room briskly.

**/~/**

Her hands were deep inside a man's chest when she realized that the explosion was caused from explosive tags lined in the gut of an unidentified nin on a gurney. Just for a second, her hands wanted to shake. But Hiruzen Momoko was a surgeon, and although her hands were glowing bright green with her energy to heal this man, she could kill him in a heartbeat. So Momoko breathed deeply, and let her hands feel the warmth of this man's organs. It took time, but as she cauterized bleeds and repaired tears in the man's intestines, Momoko could feel reason returning to her.

Attacks happened time to time on the hospital, but never had a terrorist been victorious. Only a small portion of her trauma ward had been blown away, but with it went pieces of the Chief of Medicine. As a first responder, Momoko did not have time to feel feelings. She did not have time to feel fear creeping up her spine and she did not have time to become paralyzed. It was later, after she was able to repair the Chief's internal injuries and make sure his burns were treated that she felt the cold numbness overtake her body.

Somehow their Chief of Medicine had not taken the full brunt of the explosive tags, and had managed to keep most of his limbs in tact. It had taken Momoko six hours to repair his mangled arm, and even longer to fix the gaping hole in his gut. Momoko had seen gruesome, and Momoko had smelled it before, too. But this shook her hard.

But as a first responder, Momoko had responsibilities. She had a responsibility to remain calm, level, and she was in charge of assessing the situation. So when she deduced that the perpetrator could still be in the building, hell- could be part of their very own staff, Hiruzen Momoko decided to place a genjutsu over the Chief of Medicine's room. Rather, she had the Chief of Neuro place a genjutsu, since that was his specialty.

Now, as Momoko finished up her repairs, she glanced around her OR to take in her residents' faces. Shaken, they looked, and Momoko could not blame them.

"He's good. Someone close him up please."

And she turned with her hands upheld, peeling off her gloves and escaping her seemingly smaller OR. Rinsing her hands, she quickly peeled her cap off her hair and shook loose those sweaty strands.

_The one responsible is still here._

She knew it, Cardio and Psych and Neuro and Ortho knew it, and her heart could not stop beating so heavily.

"You okay, Momoko-san?"

It was a resident's voice, Hoshino Karae, if she remembered correctly. Just five years younger than her. Slowly, Momoko lifted her dark eyes to her fellow Konoha nin. She blinked once, twice, and let her hair fall around messily.

"…zen-san?"

Still blinking, Momoko's cloudy eyes connected with Hoshino's concerned orbs, and she saw nothing-

"Hiruzen-san, maybe you should rest?"

Hoshino's hand was resting on her shoulder, and that violently snapped Momoko out of her reverie.

"Hoshino-san…"

Hoshino, her fellow Konoha nin. Hoshino Karae, if she was not mistaken, was placed in trauma as a second year resident. Hoshino, placed in trauma for a specific reason. Hoshino Karae, former intelligence Shinobi of Konoha and presented a knack for deploying information effectively.

"Hoshino-san… I need you to do something very important for me…"

**/~/**

_A ten-year old Hiruzen Momoko wandered the streets of Konohagakure, her fresh, green hitai-ate tied proudly around her long, red hair. The girl had a wide smile plastering her lips, and her blue eyes shined brightly in the mid-morning sun. She was a small thing, but that was the day she had beaten her long-time sparring partner, Matio Guy. It had taken nearly all morning, and she was covered in sweat and dirt and bruises, but the win was worth it._

_ Momoko wasn't a competitive girl, but she enjoyed the thrill of challenging her peers._

_ "Hiruzen-chan!" _

_Blinking, Momoko stumbled in her step as she heard her name, and she turned with that smile still stretching her small face. _

_"Rin-chan!" _

_Nohara Rin skipped to a stop, having two boys in tow. Momoko grinned excitedly, "I finally beat Guy-chan!"_

_ Giggling, Rin gestured to the two boys behind her. "Maybe one day you'll beat Kakashi, too!" _

_Blinking, Momoko leaned around her friend to gaze at the two boys. One was grinning like crazy, and the other was looking anywhere but Hiruzen Momoko._

_ "My name's Momoko!" _

_The boy with the grin smiled even wider, "I'm Uchiha Obito, and I'm going to be the next Hokage!"_

_ Momoko laughed and smiled, turning to the boy with white hair. He still wasn't looking at her, which caused Obito to elbow him roughly. The boy snorted derisively before looking at the small girl in front of him. She was scrawny, she had bright red hair, and she had these big blue eyes. However, she had a hitai-ate on her forehead, and Kakashi remembered everyone in the academy. _

_Hiruzen Momoko. She graduated early as well, but not as early as him. _

_She wasn't anything special. _

_"…Hatake Kakashi."_

_ He watched her smile real big for him before turning back to Rin._

_ "Rin-chan, I cannot believe…!"_

**/~/**

It was a warm, quiet day in Konoha when Tsunade received the message.

She had been at her desk, head resting and weaning off yet another hangover with Shizune at the bookshelf and Hatake Kakashi reporting when she heard it. Blinking, she lifted her squinting eyes to the window, where a woman kneeled, knocking. Her eyes opened just a bit more when she saw her clothing, her bloodied scrubs and her forehead protector, before the woman let herself in.

"T-Tsunade-sama…!"

She all but tumbled in the window, panting heavily and flaking the dried blood on her cheek.

"What's the meaning of this!"

Tsunade was a reasonable woman, seeing as she had been appointed Hokage, but some things just had to give some days. The heap of the woman on the floor picked herself up, swallowing thickly before making contact with the blonde genius.

Kakashi could only watch with his interest piqued. This kunoichi wore medic clothing, but not the clothing of Konoha.

He watched as she stuttered, "I-I have a message from Hiruzen M-Momoko, Chief of T-Trauma at United Shinobi Hospital!"

And he felt his heart in his throat as he heard the name of a woman that had long disappeared from his life.

"What is it," came Tsunade's stern demand, but Hoshino Karae had already formed the hand seals.

"K-Kai!"

And suddenly, there she was. Projected before them was none other than Hiruzen Momoko's small, serious face. Kakashi blinked before studying the woman, taking in the eyes he had not seen in over a decade.

"What…-"

"Early this morning, a terrorist bombing successfully occurred in Trauma 3A. The Chief of Medicine was caught in the blast and suffered terrible injuries, though I was able to stabilize him…"

She looked so different to him. Her hair was darker, longer. Her eyes were deeper and unidentifiable. There were dark bags under her eyes. She was thin, thinner than he had remembered. Hiruzen Momoko looked tired and unhealthy. Her skin was no longer tanned, and her cheekbones had not been so prominent previously.

Defeated.

"The bomber has not been apprehended or identified. Precautions have been taken to ensure the Chief's safety, as well as the staff's and the patients'. However…"

Here, Momoko's eyes left theirs and skirted beyond, and they watched as those blue orbs widened, just an inch.

There was another voice, "Hiruzen-san?"

It was Hoshino's, and Kakashi realized that this was a recording. This girl had delivered it.

"Run, Hoshino."

"What?!"

And her shout, "RUN!"

In that moment, Hoshino had turned to see a flash of red, that red being Hiruzen Momoko's hair. Thwarting off a taller, masked figure with just her hands and strength, a kunai slicing her hand that was aimed for Hoshino Karae's neck, "RUN, HOSHINO!"

The recording died on a sickening _crunch_.

Silence reigned, and Hoshino could only fall against the wall in exhaustion, panting heavily.

Swallowing, "Hiruzen…san… I've never seen Hiruzen…"

She could only manage those words before fainting. Shizune hurried to her side, aiding the girl. Tsunade sat hunched at her desk, hands laced before her, thinking. Closing her eyes, "Kakashi… gather a team. Meet back here in twenty minutes."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

He disappeared in a small _poof_ of smoke, mind set on the task at hand.

And the ghost of a woman on that projection.

_Momoko…_

Sighing, Tsunade turned to the window, overlooking Konoha with a sharp glint in her honey-brown eyes.

Hiruzen Momoko…

_"He was my teammate, Tsunade-shishou. He couldn't die!"_

_ "I'll make sure you never use that technique again!"_

Closing her eyes slowly, Tsunade willed the memory away. That had been a long time ago, and it had been a grave mistake. She had left the village and became disillusioned with Konoha from Dan's death, from Nawaki's death. Hiruzen Momoko had a lot of heart as a kid, and Tsunade was not an excuse for a mentor back then.

"Tsunade-sama…"

Opening her eyes, Tsunade did not turn. "Yes, Shizune."

Swallowing, Shizune looked down at the exhausted girl. "Do you think… Hiruzen is still using _that _technique?"

Quietly, Tsunade gazed at her fist on her leg, remembering how hard Hiruzen Momoko worked, how much pain she could take…

"I do."

Tsunade remembered the look in Hiruzen Momoko's eyes as she beat the love for medicine out of her.


	3. Metal Hunks

**Trauma  
**_A Naruto fic_

* * *

_"Obito-san, let's spar again!"_

_"You're on, Momo-chan!" _

Exhaling softly, Hiruzen Momoko dipped her head in a quiet sort of exhaustion. She sat on her usual tree trunk with her hands laced before her, and there she waited, hunching, for her Konoha team. Her left hand, her better hand, donned a silk bandage that had been stained with burgundy blotches. She wore her standard red trauma scrubs, clean and without any bloodstains, for that moment.

Closing her dark orbs, Momoko tried to clear her mind, letting the face of the man who had attacked her crumble away. Currently, that man was in Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri's OR, where she attempted to place his bones back in order. Momoko had no doubt that that proved to be a difficult task, seeing as she crushed his face with her chakra-enlaced fist. Hamase "Neuro" Rikiri was probably in there as well, seeing that crushed faces could lead to brain hemorrhaging and hematomas.

"What a mess…"

The only identification the man possessed was a clean, _irritating,_ unmarred _Konoha_ hitai-ate. Momoko had stumbled upon it as she had rifled through his standard Shinobi pack, and immediately did away with the hunk of metal with a heavy dread in her heart. It had taken her only a second to register the symbol before crushing the piece in her hand, having used a surge of chakra to give her the strength with her bruised bones. He had worn a standard Anbu mask that each village could have used.

"A fucking mess…"

Grimacing in pain, Momoko relaxed her hands. After all Konoha had taken from her, after each brutal loss and crushing disappointment, Momoko still covered its ass.

_I guess that's something you can't teach._

**/~/**

"Oi, Kakashi-Sensei! What is this place, anyway?"

Blinking up at the colossal stone building before him, Uzumaki Naruto whistled lowly. His bright blue eyes scanned the area quickly, catching the sign of United Shinobi Hospital before scanning the architecture once again.

"You heard what Tsunade-sama said, Naruto! Be respectful and be QUIET!" Cheek twitching in annoyance, Haruno Sakura buried her fist into Naruto's thick skull with not a lick of remorse.

"Yamato, report inside. I will check the perimeter."

Ambling slowly towards the massive structure, Hatake Kakashi lightly tightened his hands in his pockets, black eyes also scanning the thick woods.

"Yes, Senpai."

Kakashi sighed with his hand on his face, motioning for Naruto and Sakura to follow his lead. Together, the three ninja started their way around the Hospital, keeping a keen eye for any traps or choke points. It was a very green, very undisturbed area for a hospital. The greenery expanded endlessly, and as white and stony as the building was, one could see ivy crawling its way up the walls. The United Shinobi Hospital, level one emergency response center. And Shinobi from all over jumbled inside, caring for patients that they had no political or emotional allegiances to. It was a miracle this place even operated.

And _who_ awaited inside-

The first he saw of her was her ruddy, rose hair.

Halting to an immediate stop, Hatake Kakashi found himself staring at none other than Hiruzen Momoko, who stood at Trauma's doors with a chart in her hand. Her face was scrunched in discontent, her small stature hunched. She spoke to a medic to her left, adorned with an Iwagakure hitai-ate. The Iwa woman was staring straight at the Konoha Envoy, yet Momoko kept her eyes glued to the clipboard in her hands. Approaching the two women, Kakashi let his chakra flare, just a bit.

A deep frown pulled at Momoko's lips, and finally, she lifted her head to see the three Shinobi before her. Her cyan eyes first saw Naruto's yellow mop, turned to Sakura's green eyes, and finally fell on Kakashi's tall form. Her lips parted, hesitated, and greeted, "Where's your fourth, Hatake."

Not hesitating a moment at Momoko's acknowledgement, "Yamato is reporting inside."

Here, her dark, shaped eyebrow arched.

If he was not mistaken, Kakashi swore he could have seen her cheek twitch in mirth, "To whom, if I may ask."

Hiruzen Momoko had a habit of making her questions sound like statements. There was never an inflection in her solid, steady voice.

She had the voice of belief.

Before he could respond, Momoko turned with her chart in hand. He watched as she walked through those Trauma doors, chart in one hand and mint scrub cap in the other. He did not say a word as Hiruzen Momoko turned her back on him.

"Oi-!"

"I'll be handling you lot from here."

The Iwa kunoichi smiled as she cut Naruto off, offering a hand before turning as well.

"My name's Kirin Tor, and I'm about the only friend Momoko's got in this place."

She let the Shinobi follow her through Trauma's doors, not bothering to wait for their introductions. Kakashi followed calmly with his hands in his pockets, ambling along lackadaisically. Naruto, on the other hand, glared at Kirin's back, not liking the fact that he had been ignored _twice._ Sakura listened intently as Kirin spoke, mind racing. The hospital, the surgeons, the whole idea was overwhelming-

"I don't know how much you know, but please remain quiet until we reach our destination."

Kirin guided them to an elevator, pressed the button forcefully as they boarded, and remained silent. Naruto, on the other hand, tapped his foot in impatience, "Who was that lady, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Glancing at Naruto, Kakashi sighed from underneath his mask.

"Hiruzen Momoko," it was Sakura's voice that stated it plainly. Green eyes scrunched, it seemed as though she were raking her memory for any detail of the red-haired woman. But before she could utter any more information, the elevator doors _dinged_ open, and out stepped Kirin Tor, her Konoha Envoy in tow.

Kirin directed them through a series of empty hallways, not a soul in sight. Naruto, chilled by the silence, shuddered along. Sakura frowned before pinching the boy, a scowl set firmly when he squeaked, "Sakura-chan!"

_Tsking _sharply, Kirin Tor finally halted in front of a large blue door.

She turned to the Shinobi, green eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Good luck, Konoha."

**/~/**

She was standing at the window when Kakashi entered. She had turned to watch the door open, scanned the Shinobi in the doorway, and then averted her eyes to her fellow _arguing _colleagues. Hiruzen Momoko was quiet in a sea of shouts, and she could only close her eyes slowly in exhaustion.

"Konoha! YOU SUMMONED KONOHA?!"

Cardiothoracic.

"You could have at least warned us, Momoko."

Orthopedic.

"This is blasphemous to this hospital, Hiruzen! You're out of line!" Fujimoto "Cardio" Eito growled furiously, eyes focused solely on the aforementioned woman. The department heads fumed, quieted, and soon enough all eyes were upon Hiruzen Momoko as she inhaled heavily. All eyes were upon Momoko as she turned from the window to her peers, her fellow nin.

Snapping her cyan eyes open, her gaze hovered over Cardio and Ortho and Psych and Neuro, to Kakashi and Yamato and to the two other, younger nin. She had no idea who they were. However, her eyes rested on Naruto. His appearance, his stature and his demeanor. She didn't have to guess that he was the Yondaime Hokage's son. She took in his bright yellow hair, his bright eyes, and the overall warmth of this boy. Stepping forward, cyan eyes holding his, her lips fell infinitesimally.

Humbling, she thought, to be standing before such a functional jinchūriki.

She turned to her fellow medics before she could lose any more ground.

"Konoha responded immediately."

"Our villages-!"

"Then why did you not alert Kiri, Fujimoto?" Hamase "Neuro" Rikiri stood, his handsome face passive.

Eyeing the Konoha Shinobi, "Konoha is the most efficient. Geographically, they are the nearest. It made sense for Hiruzen to alert her village."

During this time, Momoko could only inhale and exhale, let her colleagues continue bickering. She did not have time for this. There were always patients, always pre-ops and post-ops. She did not have time for politics and diplomacy-

"I did not come to this hospital to listen to my peers bicker about politics and spew hate towards one another. Represent your village. I have patients-"

"You can't get out of this, Hiruzen! When the Chief-!"

It happened before anyone could move.

Momoko had not realized that her fist had made contact until the roaring _crash_ caused all Shinobi in the room to take a defensive.

The large oak table that had previously stood in the conference room now was scattered in pieces across the floor, shattered. Thick shards of oak embedded the walls, and Momoko's bandaged fist now seeped blood.

The violence had shaken her more than the damage.

It was quiet in the room for a long time, as shock wore on the Shinobi. Kakashi kept his eyes on the woman before him, watched as she breathed heavily. She closed her eyes, inhaled, and stepped over the debris. She stopped at the door, face-to-face with Hatake Kakashi.

She looked passed him, eyes glazed, before lifting her face to his.

She did not see him.

_"K-Kakashi-san y-you have to s-stay awake!" _

_"…" _

_"Dammit s-stay alive!"_

She did not see him as she stepped out.

**/~/**

"I'm sorry about that back there…"

Hamase "Neuro" Rikiri smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head in an abashed sort of way.

"Hiruzen is not normally so… violent."

Hatake Kakashi glanced away from the young man, taking in the new wing of the hospital. This was Neurology's territory, and it was a very quiet, very placid office. Motioning for Kakashi to sit, Hamase took a seat at his desk, pushing aside various half-eaten granola bars and a bottle of unlabeled pills. Grabbing a pen, he marked a few things on his desk calendar, writing in a few blank spaces.

"I have a few minutes before my next surgery, so if you have any questions, please ask."

Hatake Kakashi had a multitude of questions for the man. The conference room had raised nothing but questions. Shaking the image of the disheveled Hiruzen Momoko out of his mind, Kakashi leaned against the man's wall. "It was not reported to Konoha who was responsible for the attacks."

Sighing, Hamase leaned back in his chair, "Hiruzen did not report any identification on her assailant after searching his belongings."

Furrowing his brow, Kakashi let it sink in. Momoko was a very capable Shinobi, and was trained to reveal any vital information. Still, something did not seem right.

Nodding silently, "Have you identified the bomber?"

"No. For all we know, they could still be in the hospital."

After Momoko had slipped away, the remaining three attending physicians ceased all bickering. Communicating with the only active Shinobi seemed the best option, though they all had, by now, informed their respective villages of the situation. Hesitant to cause an uproar, Neuro and Ortho put their faith in Konoha's reinforcements. Cardio was not as forgiving, but Psych eventually convinced the man to let the Shinobi to do their jobs.

Currently, Sakura was speaking with Hashimoto "Psych" Naota, questioning the man similar to Kakashi with Hamase "Neuro" Rikiri. Yamato, accompanied by Naruto, had gone to seek out Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri, who had taken off shortly after to treat Momoko's injured hand. The hospital had much ground to cover, and very little time.

Sighing quietly, Kakashi pushed himself off the wall, nodding his thanks to the seated man.

Going for the door, "Did you know Hiruzen before this, Hatake-san?"

"Aa."

Nodding, Hamase stood. "She believes in this hospital more than anyone else."

_"We took an oath, Rikiri!"_

Balling his fists, Hamase frowned deeply.

His eyes were glued to the ground, "She believes that no matter who the patient, it is her duty to her very best."

"…Aa."

"The oath we all took…" Cutting himself off, Hamase reached for his coat, motioning for the door.

"I have a craniotomy to get to. I have placed a genjutsu on the Chief's room. If you'd like to see the Chief of Medicine in recovery, find one of the attending physicians."

**/~/**

_"You eat a lot for a girl, Momo-chan!"_

_ "N-Not that much, O-Obito!"_

It was late, but they found her in her normal lunch spot. Kirin Tor merely stood in Trauma's threshold with a blank chart, motioning for Uzumaki Naruto to approach the small woman. Being Naruto, he had no problem striding right up to Hiruzen Momoko.

"You really let that table have it, Momoko-chan!"

Flexing her bruised and bandaged hand, Hiruzen Momoko lifted her tired eyes to the boy that just radiated warmth. Squinting, she caught her Iwa friend through the corner of her eye, sighing. "How long before the trauma arrives?"

Grinning, Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Kirin-san said twenty minutes."

Simply nodding, Momoko summoned the energy to form a seal with one hand, then hovered it over her broken one. Naruto watched as the green light glowed beautifully in the dark, blinking at her injuries.

"Does that make it all better?"

"Not at all."

"Then what's that for!"

Quirking her lips, "I have to be able to move it, at least."

"You make it look so easy!"

"It is."

Uttering a big _'hmph'_ Naruto plopped himself on the ground before the woman, looking up at her face. She was pretty, but she looked so tired. She had these big oval eyes that fluttered shut every few seconds, a small button nose, and this small mouth that looked like it was meant for smiling.

"I bet if you smiled, half the people here wouldn't think you lost your mind."

"People think that, huh."

"They all talk about it!"

Momoko offered a mirthless smile, finally connecting her eyes to Naruto's. Their eyes were almost the same hue, but not quite.

Hers held less light.

"Why don't you smile more, Momoko-chan!"

In the distance, Momoko could hear the faint steps of Shinobi, signaling her trauma was close. Slowly moving to stand, Momoko bent her knees and listened for the faint _pops_ of her joints, inhaling deeply. This was the nine tails jinchūriki.

She blinked, but did not move.

_"My condolences, Momoko-san." _

Hiruzen Momoko quickly treaded away, once again ignoring the Uzumaki Naruto. His voice was like a rush of water in her ears, and she could only hear the persistent _crash_ of a levee collapsing.

_"__…_mother …incredible woman." 

She walked into Trauma's doors and did not look back.


	4. Joyless Mirth

**Trauma**

_A Naruto fic_

* * *

"Ya nearly killed him, Momo-chan."

Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri smiled wryly, chestnut eyes crinkling as she quickly examined the unknown nin's chart. She stood at the base of her patient's bed, her back to Hiruzen Momoko as she did a routine check-up. "He's sedated, so he won't be moving anytime soon, not that he'd be able to, anyways. His face was mince-meat by the time you were done."

Still, she did not receive a response, not a laugh or a sigh. Not that she had expected one, either. Turning slightly, Muuri eyed the silver-haired Copycat Ninja in the doorway. Hatake Kakashi had taken to leaning on his side in the threshold, his one eye passive. Momoko stood a ways away against the far wall, unblinking at the unlabeled yet secret _Konoha_ nin.

Lips tipping, she finally glanced at her Iwa ally, "Thanks, Muuri."

Waving it off, Nishimura Muuri ambled to the door, "Yeah, yeah. I'll monitor him throughout the day." She brushed passed Kakashi, hesitating a moment before grunting at the tomato-haired Trauma Chief, then departing.

"Looks like training under Tsunade-hime wasn't all that abhorrent, if you learned to punch like that."

This caused Momoko to finally snort in a tired, joyless sort of way, her heart-shaped lips curving deeply.

"Hiruzen."

She tried hard some days.

"What is it, Kakashi."

Momoko made an effort to take care of herself.

"We need to talk," his voice was professional, and this caused Momoko to blink her sea-blue eyes at the Jōnin. She turned to him, her red scrubs and red hair seemingly blaring.

"I suppose we do."

He took in the sight of the woman that had saved his life. They had only been in their mid-to-late teens, but it was a happening that had changed something deep inside Momoko. Her hair, even longer than it had been then, was tied loosely with a string collecting it at the base. Her skin was pallid, as if she refused to see the light of day. Heavy bags underlined her large, depthless eyes. He could tell she didn't receive much sleep, probably because of her iron-fisted work ethic.

She was thin.

"Tsunade sent you, of all people."

The Momoko he had known was a healthy, robust teenager with a wide smile plastered to her lips.

"She wanted your cooperation."

Snorting derisively, Momoko turned to the bedridden assailant, crossing her bony arms and gripping her knobby elbows.

"I gave this to Konoha."

Taking a step forward, Kakashi silently closed the door behind him. Standing beside the abrasive Kunoichi, Kakashi wondered if the Momoko he knew had long perished, and this woman beside him-

"He's a Konoha nin."

"What?"

Nodding, Momoko caught his eye with the corner of hers.

"I disposed of the hitai-ate immediately."

Shock.

"Hiruzen…" She dipped her head to stare at her feet, inhaling slowly. "You know what this means," his voice was a silent, unyielding force that she actually found comfort in.

"I… do."

Sighing, Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck slowly. A Konoha attack upon this hospital could only bring its own sort of calamity, and to make matters worse-

"I'll notify Tsunade-sama"

"Aa."

Yet, Hatake Kakashi did not move. His eye was on the bed, and his mind should have been taking care of the matters before him.

But, he did not move.

"Hiruzen-"

It was in the air, hovering and thickening with each passing moment that she _chose_ to stand next to him. He could feel it as she distanced herself from him; he could feel it as she laid her palm flat on the cream-colored door. He felt it worm its way down his throat as she _did not look at him._

"I know."

She was elusive. Hatake knew it would not be easy, speaking to a woman that had been prepared to face the blank face of eternity, whom he had not ever thanked for repairing his otherwise fatal injuries at an unimaginable cost to herself.

Hiruzen Momoko had given him life, and he had watched her walk away from the window, yet again.

This was not a grudge.

Closing his eye, Hatake Kakashi sighed as he disappeared in a small _poof_ of smoke.

This was not a grudge.

This was a haunting, for he was a ghost she had never mended.

**/~/**

Although the United Shinobi Hospital was located in the midst of the luscious green of the Land of Fire, it closely boarded the small country in which Amegakure resided. Therefore, it was easy to say that the large facility received many, many rains. About fifteen miles out, a small village sat right on the border of the Land of Fire. It was a civilian residence and nothing more.

However, because of the persistent rains in the past few weeks, Hiruzen Momoko was about to become a very busy Trauma Chief.

**/~/**

_"If you want to seriously consider this position, Hiruzen-san, I will give you an opportunity to show your skill." _

_The Sandaime Hokage's gravelly voice addressed the small Hiruzen girl, and she nodded once in affirmative. _

_"Thank you, Hokage-sama." _

_Her cyan eyes never strayed from the man out simply out of respect, grateful that he had even considered her request. _

_Continuing, "You will lead a three-man cell into hostile territory to subdue and capture a missing nin that goes by the name of Jin. Use any force that is necessary. Your team will consist of point-visual Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi." _

_Nodding once, Momoko's stomach clenched in anticipation, awaiting her teammates' arrival nervously. Being paired with such talented ninja made her feel small, but she clenched her hand at that thought, letting her burgundy hair bob with a shake of her head. _

_"Has your family agreed to these terms, Momoko-san?" _

_Blinking, the sixteen year-old Momoko swallowed thickly, letting her lashes fall over her blue orbs. She was adorned in a sleeved black shirt with a red swirl on the back, and a mint-green apron-skirt with bandages underneath. This was Hiruzen Momoko's first ANBU mission, and she would not fail. _

_"Y-Yes, Hokage-sama." _

_Medicine was her family. Her mother and father both were brilliant med-nin, and apparent her grandparents as well._

_ "The Hiruzen are a loyal clan, Momoko-san. You should feel honored." _

_A small bob of the head. Her red pony-tail swayed back and forth, and she managed a small smile for Sarutobi Hiruzen. _

_"Your mother… would have been proud of your decision." _

_"T-Thank you-"_

_ A small _poof_ startled the girl into a small hiccup, and she managed to blink at the sudden arrival of Uchiha Itachi and, seconds later, Hatake Kakashi._

_ "Hiruzen Momoko, I leave the briefing to you…"_

**{~}**

_ Sweat dripped from her tired brow; a clumsy spill of breath from her chapped lips- _

_"How far, Uchiha!"_

_ It was the third day in the Land of Earth- their third day on hostile ground._

_ "Seventy meters in closing." _

_Cursing under her breath, an exhausted Momoko panicked. They were so close to the boarder, so close with their mission and, having subdued their target with minimal injury, so close to the finish line. However, the pursuing Iwa nin took a strong team to outrun- _

_"We have to lose them." _

_The words came from her left, and as she continued to run, she glanced at the voice. Hatake Kakashi ran a few yards to her left, Uchiha Itachi to her right. It had been Hatake's turn to carry the nin, who Momoko had injected with her very own paralytic. She soaked in the boy's words like a wet towel. _

_"Direct conflict."_

_ "We cannot outrun them." _

_Dammit, Momoko knew that, but they could not afford a direct assault. Three days constantly on the move. They hadn't had sleep since they had left Konoha. This was a time-bomb of a mission, and they could not waste more time with Jin, their missing nin, on the move. Capturing him was imperative to Konoha's security. A rogue ANBU._

_ Who would've thought- _

_-the explosion hit them before it was registered. _

_Momoko hit the ground with a harsh thud, shoulder _crunching_ upon impact. She was a snake, hissing and wriggling on the hard dirt, coughing and spitting from the cruel injury. Her vision blurred for quite a few seconds, but seconds were all that were needed before she felt the merciless cool of the point of a kunai. There were no words as the kunai ripped through her arm, and she cried out as she managed to-_

-poof.

_A small log replaced the shape of the girl in an instant, and the instant was what it took for Hatake Kakashi to quickly sever the Iwa nin's artery as he emerged from his battle. The ninja fell, eyes glazing as Momoko stared down, his soul withering-_

_ "Hatake."_

_ It was then she noticed Uchiha wasn't in the surrounding area. _

_Hindsight speaking, Momoko should have counted the fourth enemy. _

_Instead, in her exhaustion, she had counted three._

_ Spinning, the girl's cyan orbs flew to Uchiha Itachi so suddenly appearing, the trees, their captive nin- _

_"The paralytic will not last until Konoha." _

_A lump had risen in her throat as she clenched her fists._

_ "Iwa will continue their pursuit, Momoko." _

_"What would you have us do, Hiruzen-san." _

_Gulping down a sourness that Momoko had yet to identify, her feet found the ground._

_ "Any force necessary…" _

_This was where Hiruzen Momoko discovered the pit. The pit dragged her stomach into an abyss as she knelt beside the paralyzed yet conscious Jin. It seemed to take her very long, this walking, and this act, but reality stated that Momoko made the decision in seconds. Forming the hand seals of a lethal technique, Momoko's lips uttered finality._

_ "I'm sorry, Jin." _

_Her hands, now radiating a pale, almost white light, hovered over the missing nin's heart for seconds, and then pressed heavily once upon the vital organ. _

_She ended his life in seconds. _

_She swallowed thickly, quickly jerking away from his opaque, dead eyes. It was then, as she turned to give a hesitant order to Uchiha Itachi, that another explosion went off._

_ Her lips formed his name, yet it was drowned out by the explosion that came from her right, her left, seemingly- _

_-the anguished groan from yards away told her someone did not escape unscathed._

_ Breath catching in her throat, Momoko managed to pivot quickly, parrying a blade with her own on the fabric of her wrist. Curved, her blade caught her assailant's, and she was able to toss it aside with the angle she possessed. _

_Momoko was a medic, and although she was a ninja, she was a healer first. _

_Aching to assist her injured team-mate, Momoko was flooded with relief as Uchiha Itachi distracted the last Iwa nin. By the time she had turned her back to run to aid, the dull _thud_ of a body resounded quietly._

_ She made it through the smoke, but barely held in her scream as she caught sight of Hatake Kakashi._

_ The boy who had always turned her down for a spar, yet quietly ate beside her after her training at the grounds. Hatake Kakashi, the boy who snubbed her from day one, yet appeared everywhere as if they had some sort of silent allegiance. Hatake Kakashi who had wordlessly broken Obito's death to her. Hatake Kakashi, who had accompanied her to the hospital, mutely, every day since his team's death. _

_She inhaled a sharp, razor-like breath as she took in the mutilated mess of Hatake Kakashi's bloodied form. _

_She froze upon the sight of so much blood, of burns- that was a finger. _

_Nauseous, Hiruzen Momoko plopped down beside his still body-_

_ "Hiru…" _

_Hiccupping, Momoko's hands shook as she summoned the courage to create the symbols. _

_"Do not move an inch, Hatake."_

_ Her voice, however, was as steady as a wire. It took much difficulty for her not to vomit. The stench of his seared flesh was hard enough, but the gaping wound in his gut was the most horrifying. Trembling, her small hands almost touched flesh, and Hiruzen Momoko felt her heart give a few feeble thumps before realizing that this simply was not enough._

_ "Uchiha!" Her shrill summon may have given off a beat of hysteria, which threatened to bubble over. He was at her side in a moment's time. Clearing her throat, Momoko kept her eyes on Kakashi. _

_"Do you have the strength to complete this mission."_

_ It was here, in this very moment, that Hiruzen Momoko's questions no longer inflected in her solid, stone voice. _

_"Yes, Hiruzen-san."_

_ She nodded, not daring to look back at the Uchiha, worried that he would identify the terror in her eyes._

_ "Then I want you to complete the mission. Return to Konoha with Jin's body. Then and only then after it is completed can you send for an evac."_

_ She did not need to look to see him nod, for his presence was already noted absent. Momoko inhaled heavily, and salt water collected at the edge of her pools of ocean. _

_"Stay awake, Hatake."_

_ A small, incoherent groan was her response._

_ "I will fix this." _

_Nothing._

_ "I will fix you." _

_Silence._

_ "Hatake." _

_His eyes were shut._

_ Terror clenched her icy heart as she lost her breath, choking down bile._

_ "K-Kakashi y-you have to s-stay awake!"_

_ These very moments defined the rest of Hiruzen Momoko's life. _

_The Hiruzen, known for their immense wealth in the Land of Fire, were rumored to have a much forbidden, very effective medical jutsu. A family of medics, most of them were ignorant to this fact. However, Momoko's mother, a very diligent and sharp woman, had Momoko learn at a very young age that this _Kinjutsu_ had a purpose in this life. _

_The family _Kinjutsu_ was learned by one member of each generation, passed solely to one. Momoko happened to be the one to learn the Hiruzen method of relocation._

_ Quaking fearfully, Momoko quickly rifled through her medpac, grasping gauze and bandages and the two cc's of morphine that she carried on hand. Clearing her throat, the tomato-haired Kunoichi took only a moment to remember the boy before her, at her side each day as she made her way to the hospital to train, to learn, to practice medicine. _

_Kakashi who, still to this very day, would not spar with her. _

_The silent force of Hatake Kakashi, and the speechless comfort of a friend. _

_"Ninja art… Heavenly Hands technique!"_

_ At first, Momoko felt not a thing. _

_Anxiety flooded her trembling physique, maybe she hadn't formed the seals correctly, maybe-! _

_And so suddenly, the hands of the broken curled around her body so gently, embracing her with their loving anguish. As Hiruzen Momoko withdrew her hands from Hatake Kakashi's broken body, she lowered herself to the ground in anticipation. She grasped his bloodied hand, watched the erratic rhythm of his shallows breaths from his chest, and soon enough felt the brunt of Kakashi's injuries as she lay still beside him, never letting go of his hand._

_ The Hiruzen, a magnificent family full of medics, held the one card that no one should. The family _Kinjutsu_, Heavenly Hands, was a relocation technique that was a failsafe. _

_It took time, but slowly, achingly, Hatake Kakashi's injuries began to fade honestly, wholesomely. His flesh pieced itself together, stitching without needle and thread, magically, God-like. _

_It was well over two and a half hours that Hatake Kakashi regained consciousness, regained his achingly numb body-_

_-a small grip on his hand had the boy's attention immediately. _

_Trickling down the corner of her lips, a thin line of blood dripped to the ground, landing in a small pool of crimson. Both eyes widening, sharingan activating, Hatake Kakashi simply stared at Hiruzen Momoko's now broken form. _

_Silence reigned, and Momoko's dull cyan eyes caught his, and slowly trailed to a neat pile beside him. He followed, catching the gauze and needles and bandages, and quickly found her eyes again. They had fluttered shut and open, an internal battle that had been waning. Her cracked lips twitched, but did not utter a noise. _

_"Hiruzen…" _

_Again, her lips, they moved as if she could speak-_

_ "M-M…o…r…" _

_Her eyes fluttered shut. _

_Seconds passed. _

_They did not open again. _

_"Hiruzen!" _

_And all Kakashi could think as he collected the gauze and held them to her bleeding body- _

_What the hell did Hiruzen do? His body, it ached and pained in all sorts of places, and he did not feel normal. However, he distinctly remembered an explosion, his body-_

"I will fix you."

_Her unwavering, sound voice as he clung to it like a child, inspiring an emotion he had not felt in many, many years._

_Yes. _

_It took him all but two seconds to lift her broken body onto his, and his getaway, his escaping Death's grasp- __well, Death did not get another life that day, though it sure as Hell should have._

**/~/**

He had sent them on their way hours ago. Naruto, not too happy about his departure, had complained insistently.

_"But Kakashi-Sensei! We didn't actually complete the mission!"_

It had taken not a second longer for Sakura to bash him in the skull for the umpteenth time, scowling in his general direction. She, too, had been disappointed to depart so early, but upon hearing the new developments of the mission, it seemed for the best.

However, Hatake Kakashi chose to stay, reminding himself that it was for Konoha, that he had stayed to ensure the attacks would happen no longer, although the assailant had long been bedridden.

"Oi, _Konoha _boy!"

Hands stuffed in his pockets, Kakashi turned slightly, meeting the eyes of one annoyed Kirin Tor.

"Bah, what are you doing, wandering the halls so eerily? This is a hospital; the morgue's downstairs, tall, dark and handsome."

Amusement alighting his one coal eye, Kakashi's brow rose.

"I'm merely searching for a peaceful place to read."

Snorting derisively, Kirin fell in step with the man. "Well, that you could ask Momoko. It seems she knows all the nooks and crannies of this sterile old place." Her lips remained upwards. "Now, though, she's in the next village doing her weekly checkups. She won't be back for hours."

At this, something inside Kakashi twisted.

"Alone?"

His query, innocent and chiming at best really, was waved off by the brunette. She continued down the hall, picking up a few charts as they passed the nearest station. "She does it all the time. There's hardly reason to worry," here she paused, eyes alighting with an all too mischievous intent, "unless_…"_

Brow arching for the second time that conversation, Kakashi only shrugged. Stepping away, the thought of Hiruzen Momoko out in the world was startling. She was a ninja, but the pallid shade of her skin suggested that she hardly made trips outside the ER, not to mention the hospital.

The attacks had no been resolved at United Shinobi. Sure, Momoko had immobilized the blatant threat and practically threw him into a coma, but there was still the threat of another bombing. Was that man responsible alone, or were there more, waiting for the moment to strike?

Every Konoha nin in that facility was a suspect.

Still, something did not set right within Hatake Kakashi as he mulled over this information.

So with firm set to his lips, it was just like that that Kakashi was in pursuit of Hiruzen Momoko.


	5. Prowess

**Trauma**  
_A Naruto Fic_

* * *

"Shit…"

Momoko had not intended to spend her lunch hour digging for survivors.

It drizzled that day, on and on the rain seemed. It had rained for many days lately, overcast others, and now Momoko could only guess that the mudslide had destroyed everything in its wake due to the sodden, eroded ground. The village lay at the base of a terribly unforgiving mountain; it had become a dank bog, sludge coating the unsuspecting mire.

At the crossing that used to signal town, Momoko shoulders visibly hunched. She brought her hand to her face, expression crumbling instantaneously. A guttural harmony tore its way through her chest, and she squeezed her hand to her eyes in attempt to soften the harshness.

"God Dammit…"

**/~/**

Had Kakashi traced her chakra a bit more swiftly, he may have not caught her sobbing in the impartial carnage of the small village.

"God Dammit…"

Hearing her watery whisper from several feet behind, Hatake sighed as he evaluated the damage. Hiruzen Momoko doubled over in the crossroad centered in town, her red scrubs bright against the dull murk of the crushed village. The lucky wooden homes that tipped and leaned compared not to the buried cottages; God knows how many suffered beneath the mire, Kakashi thought, stepping roughly towards his childhood.

It wasn't until his hand found Hiruzen Momoko's shoulder that he had felt the chakra of another.

Snapping his unclothed eye in the direction of the interloper, Hatake merely had seconds, "_Doton: Doryuuheki!"_

His Earth Release had just enough time to obstruct the powerful echo, _"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"_

The enormous, thick wall shielded the two Shinobi from the power of the water, and as Momoko held her arms over her head to avoid the sheer pressure, her cyan eyes hardened and her hair whipped hastily in the wind.

Balling her fist, Hiruzen Momoko swallowed thickly as the water overhead continuously pummeled the earthen wall.

_"How long will you hide your face?" _

She lifted her eyes to the overcast sky, letting droplets of water drizzle her skin and soak into her pores.

She struck the moment the hydro-pressure ceased.

In that moment, Kakashi had watched her snap her pretty face to his wall, watched as Momoko's expression twisted from melancholy to rage, and watched as she brought back her arm with the will of an emperor- Hatake's earthen, solid wall crumbled so easily under her bare fist, and in a flash of burgundy Momoko was on the offensive.

"Maa, Momo…"

And so was he.

**/~/**

_She was the color of the crisp, bleached sheets of the cot. _

_Soaking into the bed, Momoko, silent as a mouse, slumbered breathlessly. A central line had been run through her chest, feeding into her axillary vein. Her body was not yet ready to function, to breathe or circulate or thrive, without the medicine and the tubes. A thick, clear tube descended down her throat, enabling the garnet-haired Kunoichi to breathe. _

_He had come through the window that night, late, for he could not have looked her father in the eye earlier that beautiful day. Seventeen year-old Hatake Kakashi leaned against the wall of Hiruzen Momoko's sterile hospital room, listening to her steady heartbeat every few seconds._

_ It had already stopped once; seven minutes of bated breath, silent sobs from her overworked father, and seven minutes Hatake observed the unkind flatline of Momoko's young heart from the other side of the wall._

"Hiruzen-dono… it is a miracle your daughter is even alive…"

_Crossing his arms mutely, Kakashi kept his one eye trained on the _brainless_ Kunoichi- no, medic- that lay on a cloud. _

"It seems as she accumulated these injuries, she had been attempting to heal herself. It is almost as if she were… she bought herself time to receive real treatment…"

_ Momoko, who hadn't seemed so incredible before, tore the curtain from Kakashi's _arrogant _eyes. She had been Obito's friend, not his. _

"I will fix this."

_She had all but ripped pretense to shreds._

"Her brain was without oxygen for seven minutes…"

_ After Uchiha Obito had tragically passed, Kakashi began to see less and less of the cheery, tomato-haired girl._

"I will fix you."

_Out of concern for her friend, Nohara Rin suggested they seek her out as much as possible, for Hiruzen Momoko had never been assigned a genin team. Her mother, a brilliant medic and even greater surgeon, opted for her to choose medicine first, leading a ninja life secondary to bright pills and clear fluids. _

"…We cannot foresee the kind of damage…"

_She always carried sweets, which Kakashi did not care much for. She said they were for the patients, but the gluttonous glint in her mirth-filled orbs all but exclaimed differently._

"…May not wake up… at all…"

_Then there had been the day of his return, upon the dawning, gut-wrenching realization that his team had died, and by his hand did Nohara Rin succumb. Unlike Obito's demise, Momoko did not inquire about her auburn-haired friend's whereabouts when Hatake had stepped through the hefty gates of Konoha. _

_It was two weeks later that the silver-haired teenager continued his late teammate's routine, and walked in step with Hiruzen Momoko along the streets of Konoha daily, any moment he could spare. She spoke more than him, but did not ask many questions. She was informal, rude on several occasions, but always did she display a wide, shameless grin. _

_The daft girl would joke about someday being Kakashi's superior, leading him in a mission for once._

"Wouldn't you just love to address me, 'Hiruzen-_dono_.'" _She would insist, sometimes letting out a cacophonous, mocking chuckle. In the years that Hatake had known Momoko, he had not once heard her voice- in those terrible, choking moments- so sober. Look where her leadership had gotten her._

_ A sobering whisper in the back of his mind, however, more to the point and weighted, look where her leadership had gotten him._

_ Alive, limbs intact, and safe inside Konoha's boarders._

_ In the years to come, Kakashi would respond that her leadership was sharp and on-point, excelling under pressure. Anyone would be lucky to have her medical prowess accompany them. But if Momoko ever asked, he would tell her otherwise. Yes, he sighed inwardly, a mediocre and unthinking leader. _

_Little did Hatake Kakashi know, after these quiet moments in her dim room, due to his workload and an emotion all-too deeply lodged in Hiruzen Momoko's mind, he would not see the tomato-haired medic for many, many years._

**/~/**

Momoko's fist went for the enemy's skull, which was deflected by a simple flick of the wrist and returned with a leg aimed for her torso. Catching the man's thigh in her pressurized grip, Kakashi noted that the woman's brute strength had improved over the years. He watched as she catapulted the man several meters into the air, flashing not too far behind with her left fist locked- pummeling him to the ground, his body melted into the earth as water.

A clone, Kakashi had realized long before.

This gave him a few moments to observe as Momoko swished her hair, attempting to lock on to the enemy's new position. The man was ordinary in looks, average build and height with brown spikey hair and coal black eyes. Yet again, _Konoha's _proud hitai-ate gleamed in the afternoon's rains, causing Hatake Kakashi to narrow his one visible eye.

His hands were just a small motion in the blur of the shower now befalling atop their swift bodies, Kakashi's brilliant _Raikiri_ screeching in the echoes of sodden droplets. Momoko had the Shinobi on the defensive as she delivered blow after blow, hastily and severely, her enlaced fists heavy in the air.

Upon sensing Hatake's sudden intervention, Momoko crouched as she swept her leg underneath the suspecting nin.

Hopping over her slim leg, the ninja faltered as Kakashi suddenly came down upon the man, Momoko having foreseen his line of attack and ducked in the last few seconds. Piercing flesh, Kakashi ripped his hand away from the man's chest, blood spurting as his hand tore away.

"…Shit," came the unknown man's muttered groan, and a sudden, breathtaking pressure-

"Hiruzen-!"

One by one, the tags illuminated the brunette's thoracic cavity, kindling a massive explosion that engulfed the entire village, what had been left of it. The blast radius, detrimental, and the wave nearly destroyed the surrounding forest of the border. The small drizzle had escalated to a torrent of showers and gusting flurries, soaking the single Shinobi in sight.

Grumbling incoherently, Hiruzen Momoko lifted her chest from the thick mud, wincing at the sudden movement of her limbs. Cyan eyes glanced down to take in the damage, noting her torn and charred scrubs and gaping wounds.

Vaguely sensing her Sharingan-wielding ally, Momoko purposefully brought her palms together with a forced calm, swiftly forming the seals to create that pale-green aura around her hands. Wincing as a particularly nasty third-degree burn bubbled disturbingly on her wrist, Momoko kept her eyes glued to her ash-colored skin.

Emerging from the cover of the ground, Kakashi shook his head at the woman on the mud, sighing at her waterlogged frame.

"Maa, Momo, you didn't even bother to take cover…"

"Some of us don't have fancy Earth Release techniques such as Sharingan no Kakashi," came her calm, heavily-loaded voice.

Merely raising a brow at the A-rank kunoichi, Kakashi extended a hand to her drenched form. Her cheek twitched in annoyance before accepting his gloved hand, grasping the strong fingers softly.

"I take it you've informed the medical center already."

A wordless nod was her response, and he could only bring a hand to the back of his head, keeping his eyes trained on his childhood _friend_.

"A trauma team should be here momentarily."

"Another _Konoha_ nin…"

"I do not think this is _Konoha's_ doing, however."

"Aa."

Here, she dropped her narrowed eyes to the ground, feeling small raindrops _pitter patter_ on the back of her neck.

"Momoko…"

Hatake Kakashi was an intelligent man, and he was a very capable judge of character. He assessed situations carefully, usually using a clone to feel out an enemy before he put himself in harm's way. Hiruzen Momoko, however, did not.

"What is it, Kakashi."

There it was again. Void of inflection, her tone was aloof as she turned her face to the oncoming medic nin. Leaning on his leg casually, Kakashi crossed his arms as the nin emerged. "How well did you know the people here?"

The village, she realized numbly, he meant the people of the village.

A step forward.

She owed a few of the begging children money from foolish yet intended bets. She treated The Hanazono family weekly for their son's case of spinal curvature. The local clerk gave her candy in exchange for routine check-ups on his wife and kid. The bartender at the small watering-hole, now buried beneath tons of rock and stone and mud, forgave her rising tab for the doses of penicillin she carried.

"Not well enough."

Another step.

She made contact with the trauma team, snapping search-and-rescue protocol before sending them on their way. "Oi, Sensory nin have first priority!"

His one black eye remained on her back.

Hiruzen Momoko was a lot of things, including an A-ranked kunoichi in many hunter nin's Bingo Book. As a medic primarily, Momoko would simply roll her eyes at this fact, stating that assassinating a medic was a waste of resources. But Hatake Kakashi knew better.

"You still cannot lie, Hiruzen."

To his knowledge, she was not skilled in the art of ninjutsu other than medic ninjutsu. She had never revealed a certain affinity to nature transformation, and she had not bothered in learning the skills of genjutsu other than the basics. To his knowledge, all Hiruzen Momoko had was her expertise in medicine, along with her strength in the art of taijutsu. Although she had not much when it came to offensive maneuvers, Kakashi knew it was an underestimate to place A-rank on to her.

"Asshole."

Upturning his eyes in a smile, Hatake chuckled as he followed her back.

Apparently, her manners hadn't changed much as well.


	6. Slack Jaw

**Trauma**  
_A Naruto Fic_

* * *

Exhaling slowly, Kirin Tor sat in her noxious cloud of smoke, an impatient frown tugging at her lips.

It was her last year of residency, and as a future trauma specialist, she felt a tad bit irked that she had not been called to participate in Momoko's emergent summoning. A thin cigarette dangled from her tensed fingers before she brought it back to her chapped lips, taking an unnecessarily long drag before holding in the smoke.

Exhaling through her nostrils, Tor groaned.

"Maataku… How long can you take, Momoko!"

Shuffling her feet, the chestnut-haired medic again groaned at her usual fidgety manner, cursing herself for going so long without a simple smoke break. It was late, and the medic was exhausted. Running the emergency room and Trauma unit in Momoko's stead was trying work-

"You work in a hospital, see sick people all the time, yet you still kill yourself with those things. Tch, dumbass."

Nearly jumping out of her skin, Kirin's emerald orbs quickly found Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri's form standing several feet away, having just stepped from Trauma's doors.

"M-Muuri-Sensei!"

Clucking her tongue at the younger medic, Muuri stepped towards the line of trees, stretching her recently-rested muscles.

"You should be monitoring the ER while Momo-chan's away~!"

"I just needed a smoke," Kirin sighed, eyes lingering longingly on her roll of tobacco before stubbing it out on the log on which she sat. Her eyes watered, her chest already missing the precious burn that the smoke provided.

_Damn Attendings…_

"Oi, Tor."

Lifting her tired eyes, Kirin squinted as she noted that her superior's eyes lay intently on something beyond the shrubbery's borders.

Shrugging it off, "What?"

"Do you think that Konoha nin accompanying Momo-chan is available?"

Raising a dark brow, "Sharingan no Kakashi?"

"Whatever. You think Momo-chan's got dibs?"

Snorting none too gracefully, "She's got him wrapped around her finger."

"Bah. Oh well. I'm not into younger men anyways." Swatting the thought away, Muuri let a small smile curl her lips. The thought of Hiruzen Momoko loving something other than medicine tickled the bottom of her ribcage. "About time that recluse started socializing with her village again."

Blinking, that itching curiosity burned within Kirin Tor yet again- or maybe it was her hankering for a cigarette, who knew?

"Why hasn't she?"

"Oh, I wouldn't expect you to know."

Scowling, Kirin's green orbs flew to her scrub pocket, where she hastily yanked a fresh cigarette from the carton.

Flicking her lighter before her face, she mumbled, "That's why I'm asking."

Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri was silent as she narrowed her small, chestnut eyes at the trees. She sensed several chakras arriving simultaneously, all at a steady pace. Lacing her rough hands behind her back, she ignored the odor of smoke from Momoko's primary resident.

"She was one of Tsunade-hime's first disciples, you know."

Kirin almost choked on the last drag she took, squinting her eyes as a round of coughs tore through her throat. Eyes watering, the girl nodded as if her Attending could see from her back.

"Momo-chan was also one of my first patients."

The chakra was close, and this caused Muuri to turn away, slowly ambling back to Trauma's doors. Hesitating at the entrance, Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri didn't turn as she spoke to her younger Iwagakure kunoichi, who sat with a sort of stunned, gaping expression.

"Tsunade-hime beat the living hell out of Momo-chan. Beat her half to death. Hell if I know how she managed to drag herself blindly into this ER. Damn woman clotted her eye shut and had her choking on her own spit, blood, and vomit."

"W-What?"

"I don't know what Momo-chan did to piss off one of the Sannin that badly, but you know Momo-chan. She doesn't do things half-assed."

**/~/**

"About damn time, Hiruzen. You look like shit."

The first rays of sunshine had started to bleed through the cracks of the trees by the time Momoko managed to shuffle through the greenery. Her weighted cyan eyes locked with equally exhausted emeralds, and she could only manage a small grimace.

"You've been running my ER smelling like that?"

Her nose scrunched at the stench of her resident's tobacco aura, swatting the air away with her bandaged arm and wrapped hand. Kirin Tor narrowed her eyes at these fresh dressings, cutting her sharp green eyes to Hatake Kakashi's seemingly aloof form, meters away.

"Oi, Hatake!"

Blinking his one visible eye, Kakashi turned from his conversation with a particularly clever sensor nin from the recovery team to Kirin's irritated voice. Upon eyeing her cross expression beside Momoko's exasperated stance, the man sighed.

"How'd you let the Chief of Trauma sustain such injuries!? Oi, I'm talking to you! She's got surgeries today, y'know! OI!"

Merely rubbing the back of his head in an abashed sort of way, the silver-haired nin flicked his hand in a small wave before _poofing_ away, escaping the irate Iwa woman efficiently.

"Let him go, Tor. He's been up for more than a day."

Rubbing the back of her neck in a tired sort of gesture, Hiruzen Momoko let her burgundy hair fall lazily. She ached from experiencing such hasty battle, regretting her split-second decisions. Her offensive maneuvers were choppy and without thought, as if she had gone on autopilot. Foolish, she thought, as she drudged passed her resident, chiding herself from such reckless action.

Kirin was right; she had surgeries today and hadn't slept for days.

_Tsking_ quietly, Momoko dreaded using more chakra to heal herself into function, shaking her head slowly at her haste.

"Get some sleep, Kirin."

"I will. You should, too. I was told to inform you that you have another one of those meetings today with all the attending physicians."

"Perfect."

"Yup. Fujimoto called it."

"Great."

"Yep. What an asshole."

And despite her exhaustion, Momoko couldn't help but crack a small smile as Kirin chuckled loudly, entering the ER with less of a lump in her throat than before.

**/~/**

Fujimoto "Cardio" Eito's office was located on the seventh floor of United Shinobi Hospital; his cardio wing was flawless, yet bustling with activity.

Adorned in his navy scrubs, Fujimoto sat behind his pristine, stainless steel desk, a tense fist resting on the shining surface. His otherwise dark hair had begun greying years ago, and his brow eyes held crow's feet around the corners. On his worst days, one could see the protruding vein upon his forehead, for the man nearly felt stress as his primary emotion each day, anger and impatience coming to a close second.

He was an older man from Kirigakure; naturally, that held even the slightest significant meaning.

As a senior of the Kirigakure Shinobi community, Fujimoto Eito was a product of his brutal generation; a proud man of Kirigakure no Sato, formerly known as Chigiri no Sato- _the Bloody Mist_.

A known fact that the former Mizukage had been controlled by none other than the Akatsuki, Fujimoto Eito merely sneered at the thought, finding nothing but pride in his time as a Shinobi. His abilities as a cardiothoracic surgeon were superior, cutting-edge, and unrivaled in the medical community. His ruthless demeanor, however, was just another piece of a larger, more advanced puzzle.

Fujimoto "Cardio" Eito had not always been a cardio surgeon.

It was only when, as a small child, he discovered he had the _uncanny_ ability to sway the hearts' of others that his curiosity had been piqued. He could only wonder what it would look like, his words to others' ears, how he could change their innermost _feelings_ by a simple shadow into their heart.

He would see a lone, sable dimness over his target's chest, directly above their most vital organ.

He had to know, what did the inside appear as?

Becoming a medic took time, took skill and perseverance, but eventually the young genius prevailed and cracked open his very first chest. The heart, what a magnificent organ it was; how it felt in the palm of his hand, how it continued to _beat beat beat_ and _pump_ for all its worth.

Eito loved it.

His adoration only grew when he applied his power in surgery, grasping _his _hearts with such ferocity and infusing that sable dimness directly into the marvelous muscle.

They were his hearts; hearts from all over belonged to him and him alone.

He added more pressure to his fist, squeezing the ballpoint pen in his hand violently.

_Konoha_ had arrived, of all villages to amass support from. _Konoha_, his lips twisted at the thought of the village that had mercilessly assassinated his comrades years ago.

Inconsequentially, the same village from which Hiruzen "Trauma" Momoko originated; Hiruzen, noble and powerful in the Land of Fire. As the prime benefactor to United Shinobi Hospital, the Hiruzen provided the funds to keep the facility running. That was the simple reason of Hiruzen Momoko's position as Chief of Trauma. Her family all but bought her position, and at this thought, Eito could only feel more agitation.

Their plans had been hindered with Momoko's miraculous work upon the Chief of Medicine, not to mention Hatake Kakashi's sudden arrival. The two Konoha nin certainly proved to be a problem, with their quick wit and clever strategizing.

Fujimoto needed to act fast if he wanted this hospital to fall at what appeared to be the malevolent hands of Konohagakure no Sato.

**/~/**

It was little known that Momoko's burgundy hair was in fact the trademark shade of the Uzumaki Clan.

She personally paid no heed to this fact, seeing as her only links to the Uzumaki Clan had perished years ago. Although, as she French braided her lengthy hair in her well-kept office on the first floor, Momoko could not help but eye the fine strands with a peculiar feeling blooming in her gut.

_"You really let that table have it, Momoko-chan!"_

Momoko had never met Uzumaki Naruto before that time, had not once seen Konoha's current jinchūriki before that day.

Closing her eyes slowly, Momoko heaved a soft breath as she tied off the last braid, leaning back in her cushioned chair. She didn't bother to open her eyes as she heard the door to her office open and close, nor did she acknowledge the fact that Hatake Kakashi had ambled in without a simple knock or greeting.

Something about this made Momoko's brow twitch, snapping her marine-blue orbs to the interloper.

"What do you want, Hatake."

Said Jōnin merely plopped himself on the couch adjacent to her desk, a green book covering his face from her view. Upon further inspection, Momoko read the cover of the _Icha Icha_ novel, not bothering to hide the low whistled that escaped her heart-shaped lips.

Hatake Kakashi never ceased to surprise the woman.

When she did not receive an answer from her childhood acquaintance, Momoko lowered her eyes to her desk, which bore neatly stacked paperwork and a few chocolate wrappers. She had managed to rest and shower, pack an Iwa Kunoichi's torso and place her in ICU for the time being, and stop by the Chief's room to check up on his status. Although there was a blatant threat hanging over their heads, it never stopped the hospital from its work.

"Konoha is nice, this time of year."

His words caused Momoko to hesitate in the writing that she had started, pen hovering in the air for a millisecond before continuing to bleed through the crisp paper. "It's unbearably hot."

"Penni's dango is sweeter than it's ever been."

"You don't like sweets."

"Aa, you do."

Momoko simply raised a thin eyebrow, keeping her eyes glued to her paperwork.

What was he getting at, anyways.

Her voice was neutral, "You don't know what I like. You haven't seen me in twelve years."

"The chocolate on your desk, Momo."

Blinking, the red-haired medic glanced at the wrappers on her desk before discarding them hastily, but not before plucking a single chocolate from the mess and hiding it for later. Hatake was observant, as always.

"There're lots of young medics there to be taught your techniques, as well."

"I'm sure."

She couldn't look up.

"Tsunade-sama took one of my former genin students under her wing. She's made a fine Kunoichi, let alone a brilliant medic."

Momoko's composure shattered as she marred the paperwork with a bold slash, and she let the utensil slip from her fingers as she stared at the mark with trouble brewing in those marine eyes.

"Is that so."

Her voice was a thin wire, and at this, Momoko raised her face to narrow her eyes at her silver-haired counterpart. He was staring right back with his one eye, book stashed in his pack long ago. Her voice was deliberate, firm, and Kakashi could now see why she had been chosen as the Chief of Trauma at this prestigious hospital.

She was composed even under this sort of pressure.

"What do you want, Hatake."

At this, the copycat nin sighed and brought a hand to the back of his head, "Maa. So serious, Momo."

"There's work to be done."

"There always is."

Her face was taut with tension, and Kakashi realized that this was not an area to regard lightly. Hiruzen Momoko was a variable among variables, and although Kakashi did not know of many of her experiences, he did know one thing.

"If I thought you wanted a thanks, I would have given one long ago."

Here, Kakashi could see a weight slowly fall into her eyes, and in one second did Momoko's demeanor change from tensed muscles to so very tired. Her shoulders, a miniscule movement that Kakashi's sharp eye caught, sagged. Her slim, delicate fingers laced themselves together as she rested her chin atop them, and her stomach fluttered uncomfortably.

Momoko was a blunt woman, often to the point. She did not like shadowed conversation, euphemisms, or niceties. She let people know what her mind thought when necessary.

This was necessary.

Momoko's dark cyan eyes locked Kakashi's black orb, and he could feel it in the air as she uttered those heavy words.

"I died in your place, and Death ripped something from me that I cannot quite identify. I do not regret it, Hatake, but do not take these words lightly. I died for you."

It was then that Momoko's office door suddenly jerked open, and a tall medic rushed in.

"We have multiple level one traumas arriving, Hiruzen-san!"

His voice was an octave higher than it should have been, and this caused Momoko to narrow her eyes and reach for her last chocolate.

"Get out there."

Her demands were always level, grave, and to be taken seriously then and there. Kakashi watched as she gathered herself to the doorway, knowing how she became this woman.

"'Thank you,' will never be enough, Kakashi."

Her voice, this time, cracked, and this caused the usually stoic Kakashi to widen his one visible eye at her back before she disappeared into the fray of the ER. Her face, just for a moment, expressed the agony of what she felt as Death hacked away at her very core for seven minutes.

And Kakashi had seen it all in that single moment.

**/~/**

It seemed Kakashi had done nothing but come to realizations concerning his childhood friend that day.

After her braided-red hair had disappeared from his sight, Hatake Kakashi had taken to scanning Momoko's office, noticing how organized she kept it. Thick books, namely encyclopedias, scrolls, and research lined the bookshelves of her room. Paperwork that she had completed was a smaller stack than the non-signature wielding stack, but it was perfectly placed on the corners of her clean, glass desk.

The drawers were visible from overhead, but what kind of ninja would Kakashi have been if he had not snooped?

He started with the top, eyes crinkling as he slid open the most obvious compartment. Sweets piled high, candy and boxed goods, along with sweet tea mixes and coupons to what he could only assume were sweet shops.

Closing the drawer, Kakashi's small smile remained as he opened the next one, closer to the ground this time. This one held less than the previous, namely spare scrolls, gauze and bandages, and a few needles. A few bottles filled with medicine rolled around, as well.

The last drawer, however, could not be spotted from above. Kakashi's gloved hand reached for the handle, but found that it would not budge as he tugged. Brows raising, the silver-haired nin could only wonder what Momoko hid in this last drawer, and more to the point, what did she have to hide-

"This is crazy, Hiruzen!"

It was then that Kakashi became conscious of the clamor outside Momoko's office; it took him moments to lean in the doorway, having full view of the emergency room from where he stood. And as soon as he looked, his primary focus was the black cloak with red clouds.

It felt as if Hatake Kakashi had taken one of Momoko's fists to the chest as he watched his burgundy-haired associate restrain an Akatsuki affiliate to a gurney-

"Oi! Get the hell off me-!"

Kakashi was stepping closer now, hastily, determined to see who this man was, gauging how dangerous he was. In this time, Momoko had her ER fellows shouting, her patient struggling to move and cursing, hemorrhaging through his abdomen with too much speed-!

Using her chakra enhanced strength, Momoko subdued the missing-nin with her unmarred wrist, her arm against his chest and her face against his. Using her dominant, bandaged hand, Momoko quickly formed ten seals, her fingers flashing instantly. Emitting the same pale shade Kakashi had seen on their last mission together, Momoko gently placed her emanating fingertips on the man's forehead, silencing him in seconds.

His jaw grew slack mid-curse, and just like that did his eyes flutter shut.

Lifting herself off the man, Momoko's red scrubs were now blotched burgundy.

"Hiruzen, he's an S-rank-!"

There were too many protests, so little hands on the actual patient, such little patient care!

Hatake was right before her now, before the Akatsuki man on the gurney-

A light tap to his shoulder had his one good eye on Kirin Tor's immediate form beside him.

"Please step back, Kakashi-kun. This moron needs surgery."

Stepping to the man's side, Kirin was unhesitant to follow Momoko's stern directions, applying pressure to the man's abdomen with sterile surgical towels.

"He needs to get to an OR stat, Momoko."

"Yeah."

And just like that, Kakashi was watching Momoko wheel the gurney down the hall with only two other medics, the ER still in chaos.

**/~/**

He was there waiting for her at the scrubs sinks.

Entering the cleansing room, Momoko tore off her surgical mask, inhaling heavily. Sweat lined her brow as she carefully peeled off her gloves, tossing them to waste.

She turned her back to him as she rinsed, noting his carefree posture as he leaned against the wall behind her, eyes glued to that book of his.

As if their last conversation had never happened.

Her mint-green scrub cap still covered her burgundy, braided hair.

"Momoko," his deep voice was neutral as she stiffened but continued to scrub the blood off her arms, "what did you just do?"

"I took you for a man that didn't ask unnecessary and trivial questions."

"You aided a missing-nin."

"I did my job."

Here Hatake Kakashi lowered the novel, his coal eye staring at Momoko's back. She had taken to leaning on the sink with her arms, head dipped as she breathed deeply. Her thin build leaned heavily against the sinks in an exhausted sort of way, and Kakashi noted that she was breathing a little too heavily.

Something was wrong.

"What is it, Momoko?"

"I've seen this man before."

It was then that she had hunched for the waste bins and emptied the contents of her stomach into the hefty basket.

It took her only moments to cease vomiting, for most of it had been fluid. She didn't remember the last time she had had a meal.

Catching Kakashi's casual form still against the wall, Momoko wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, slowly straightening. Turning to wash again, she spit bile from her mouth, feeling Hatake move beside her. His back was against the sink, and she only glanced at his taller form.

"He was a cannibal."

"Hm?"

"The lining of his stomach was torn, so I had Kirin place a clamp, which in turn caused more tearing from her specific placement. We managed to tear the stomach wide open. The contents were not yet digested fully. It was… disturbing."

So that had been what her shouting was about, he thought, recalling the hours he had watched Momoko operate.

Coughing, Momoko closed her eyes slowly, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. Carefully peeling off her scrub cap, Momoko hung it in her usual spot, where others picked it up to sanitize.

"There was much bleeding, so he's not out of the woods yet. I'm having Tor send him up to ICU."

"An Akatsuki member?"

"An affiliate. A banker, I believe. In association with the Land of Fire's bounty system."

"Aa," Kakashi nodded, glancing back into the OR where Kirin Tor closed the patient. "You know quite a bit for never leaving this hospital."

"Who said I never left."

Merely quirking a brow, Kakashi aligned his step with Momoko's as she exited the room, wringing her hands before her.

She seemed a shade paler than usual.

"Who knows how many that man has killed, Hiruzen? He was a missing nin, an Akatsuki affiliate."

"I'm not the one who decides if he lives or dies. I just do my best to repair what has been damaged."

Narrowing his eye, the silver-haired Jōnin remained silent as he attempted to understand Momoko's words-

_"She believes in this hospital more than anyone else."_

Blinking, Hatake Kakashi suddenly recollected an associate of Momoko's words, Hamase "Neuro" Rikiri in his office, balling his fist upon his desk.

_"She believes that no matter who the patient, it is her duty to her very best."_

Despite it being a neutral hospital, it seemed some of the staff still had qualms about treating certain individuals or affiliates. Apparently, not Hiruzen Momoko.

_"I died for you."_

This small, red-haired woman seemed to be determined to preserve any life that she could, and apparently try as hard as she could to do so. Halting in his amble beside the shorter woman, Kakashi kept his eye trained on Momoko's back as she continued down the long hall of the recently damaged Trauma wing.

Although she was small, boney, and could be considered scrawny in most eyes, Hiruzen Momoko possessed something that many Shinobi did not. A flash of Naruto's cheeky smile crossed his mind, and at this, he could only shake his head slightly at his student's similarity to his childhood friend.

They were distantly related, after all. The will she possessed-

"The meeting won't wait all day for us, Hatake."

Snapping out of his reverie, Hatake Kakashi's eye re-focused on Momoko's slender form, which had turned slightly to speak. Smiling slightly from beneath his mask, a warmth that had been missing for many years started to bud in Kakashi's chest, and he could only bring a hand to the back of his neck.

"Maa, Momo, I don't remember your nagging so much previously…"

Yet his feet had carried him to this woman from his past, and he managed to let her catch his smile from beneath that mask of his. Merely rolling her marine orbs, Momoko turned her face and continued down the hall, but not before Kakashi caught the miniscule quirk to her heart-shaped lips.

* * *

_Reviews are greatly appreciated! I love to hear input!_


	7. Septic

**Trauma**  
_A Naruto Fic_

* * *

Yawning lazily, Hatake Kakashi shifted his footing as he leaned against the pale wall of the conference room.

Before him were the five Chiefs of United Shinobi Hospital, all sitting warily around a large oak table. His eye lay intently on the grey-haired man at the head of the table, Fujimoto "Cardio" Eito, who had been responsible for this gathering. The older man's face wrinkled in an unpleasant, aggressive sort of way, which directly coincided with the tone of his voice as he all but yelled at the four other attending physicians.

"…Attacks… Suspicious…!"

Kakashi had zoned out long ago, finding that analyzing the other Chiefs proved to be more productive than listening to the old man's rasping shouts.

Hashimoto "Psych" Naota sat to Fujimoto's left, his grey eyes flickering between the table and his colleagues. Not once did he make contact with Fujimoto. Nervous, he seemed, and Kakashi's brow rose slightly at this fact. Filing that away for later use, Kakashi slid his eye to Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri's annoyed form beside the Psychology Chief. Her brow twitched in annoyance as she grit her pearly teeth, muttering beneath her breath with a small but indignant _tch._

It seemed that she did not regard Fujimoto as Hashimoto did.

His dark eye then found Hamase "Neuro" Rikiri's folded hands across from Ortho. Hamase Rikiri was silent and calm, merely keeping his dull black eyes closed as Fujimoto ranted about the dangers of this continuation, calling for more radical measures.

At this mentioning, Hatake Kakashi finally found Hiruzen Momoko's rigid form.

Her back to him, he could see her straightened spine and perfect posture from a distance. Her blaring red hair was still French braided elegantly, and Kakashi found that amidst the noise and occasional curse from Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri, Momoko possessed a certain grace that put the other physicians to shame.

He could see her small hands on the table, palms down and elbows far from the surface. Her delicate hands seemed so humble, as if she could not actually place them inside ninjas' bodies and repair life-threatening defects. But as Hatake Kakashi's focus remained on Momoko's miraculous hands, a sudden tightness in his chest caused him to narrow his coal eye sharply.

Her three slim fingers from her right hand hadn't seemed so important before.

Kakashi was able to make out three jagged scars at the base of her middle finger, the center of her index, and the base of her thumb-

"One of us, attending physicians in charge of major departments, could be next! Don't you see the threat!"

Muuri scowled, "Bah, Fujimoto!"

Naota nodded his blond head uneasily. Rikiri, however, slid his ink eyes to Momoko, who had taken to levelly holding Fujimoto "Cardio" Eito's hostile gaze. Hiruzen Momoko, whom, up to this point, had not uttered a word, tightened her eyes distrustingly.

She did not like the way the Cardio Chief bore into her skull.

"These attacks have a pattern!"

Something was not right, and Momoko took this time to glance discreetly at her three other colleagues. Hashimoto "Psycho" Naota now bobbed his head with a bit more certainty; Muuri's expression had not wavered, and Hamase "Neuro" Rikiri had merely turned his attention back to Cardio.

Momoko's stomach twisted.

"Only Hiruzen was attacked, and now the Akatsuki-!"

"I have a statement."

Cleanly cutting through his words, Hiruzen Momoko folded her small hands, lifting her chin to bring her dark cerulean eyes to her peers. Parting her lips to speak, she suppressed the rising bile in the back of her throat.

Her Konoha hitai-ate gleamed mockingly from her thigh.

She felt Kakashi's hand upon her shoulder.

Too often did she feel the anxiety and horror of Konoha creeping up her spine.

"Konoha…"

Too often did she see the dead.

**/~/**

_"…lost function… hand…"  
__"Momoko… be okay…" _

_"Hahaoya… disappoint… change…" _

_"…boy… Hatake… see you…"  
"Send__…_ away."

"I asked you to run the ER for an hour, Tor…"

"Maataku, Momo… I don't know if I'm cut out for Trauma at this point…"

Sighing heavily, Hiruzen Momoko stepped outside into the muggy air, letting Trauma's doors slide shut behind her. She had placed the palm of her hand on the back of her neck and twisted her pink lips, inhaling deeply as she ambled slowly to the fallen tree.

Plopping down dejectedly, Momoko simply grunted at Kirin's poor health choices as her Iwagakure friend took another slow drag of her cigarette.

"Your hair looks nice like that."

_ "Tch."_

Leaning to fold her hands before her, Momoko dipped her head tiredly. Kirin merely shifted her green eyes away from the Trauma Chief's delicate braid, holding her cigarette between her fingers.

"Fujimoto's meeting didn't go well?"

An incoherent grumble made its way through Momoko's chest, to which Kirin merely snorted derisively.

"Where's Kakashi-kun?"

"_Maa_, who knows."

"Usually stuck to your side like glue,_ ne_?"

Momoko swallowed thickly as she laced her fingers together, catching sight of her scarred right hand.

"About that…"

"Hm?"

Here Kirin exhaled the smoke away from her superior, inquiring casually. "What about it?"

Momoko merely exhaled quietly, lifting her face to stare at the tree line before them. It was true; Hatake seemed to appear everywhere she had.

"It's suspicious."

She did not like how he hovered consistently; he should have been concentrated on other pressing matters.

"He's an old friend, right?"

"I guess."

"Well, then… it's not that strange, right?"

Grimacing at the sudden moisture in the air, Momoko caught a few rain drops as she cupped her palms before her.

"The rest of the team was sent back, though."

Kirin merely buried her unused hand in her thick chestnut hair, blinking her green eyes at the sky. She was a realistic woman, much like her Senpai. On several occasions she could be very rude, and she was not very keen on formalities. She put in effort, however.

"There is another possibility, then," Kirin stated, sober. Momoko did not react; she only continued to watch the steady liquid in her hands. Stubbing her cigarette calmly, Tor stood and wiped her hands on her vague scrubs. "He could be watching you."

"Sent here to watch me."

"Makes more sense, now that you think of how much he's been hanging around."

It was tough to catch the minuscule bob of Momoko's head, but Tor had turned her back by then, wanting to escape the rain.

"Since we're being honest, Tor…"

Blinking emeralds turned to Momoko's now standing form as she stood half in the building, anticipating.

"Yeah?"

Here, Kirin watched as Momoko lifted her deep blue eyes to the sky, letting the rain fall upon and run down her face. Something about her looked very peaceful, yet Tor knew better. Momoko was a very collected, silent force in United Shinobi Hospital. She did not accept failure and she persevered through the most difficult circumstances. Many did not see it this way, however.

It was rumored that Momoko was a dicey woman; no one could control, let alone anticipate, what she could do. The Chief did not try to interfere with her risky procedures and did not speak about Momoko as anything save for an asset. Many people thought her intimidating, demanding, and unfeeling, yet Kirin Tor could see the interior of Hiruzen Momoko.

_"Tsunade-hime beat the living hell out of Momo-chan." _

Rumors of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, a sense of detached reality, and disregard for all human life surrounded the burgundy-haired woman, but Kirin Tor knew. She knew the look in Momoko's eyes as she had seen in countless Trauma victims.

"The assailants from each assault on United Shinobi have been Konoha Shinobi. I do not know why, but I do know that _Hokage-sama_ has not ordered these. Tsunade-sama may be a lot of things, but a fool is not one of them," Momoko had slipped a small piece of colored paper from her scrub pocket as Kirin widened her green eyes.

"Also, the meeting today was about this. Fujimoto was going to reveal it in a very malevolent way, which raises the question of what are his motives in the scheme of things." Here, she leveled her grave orbs to Tor's as she rolled the paper into a small cylindrical shape. "I don't care what you do with this information, but I'm informing you because I believe all Konoha personnel in the hospital will be sent back to the village, thus leaving staff short-handed. I'm calling back all Trauma staff that are on leave to cover these discrepancies."

It was then that Momoko let loose a shrill whistle, balling her free hand and straining her already fragile fingers. The past few days had been rough on her hands, all the force that she had put behind each punch and how much contact she had made, caused her bones to ache and bruise. Now, as her dark eyes search the sky, Momoko's lips curved into a hard frown.

Moments passed before a small, brown bird landed directly before on the fallen tree, and Kirin watched as Momoko slowly and gently tied the small note to the bird's leg.

"Your family keeps this hospital running."

Momoko said nothing as she watched the winged beauty scurry off into the rain.

Kirin merely scoffed and stepped into the building to avoid the rain, stamping her cigarette to the ground. Patting her back as her cherry-haired Senpai stepped in beside her, Kirin Tor smiled easily.

"I doubt you'd waste all their money by participating in terrorist activities."

"Kirin…"

"Who would I learn from if you weren't here? Maataku, Momo. This information doesn't affect me unless you're kicked out or something."

Momoko could only look to at her resident with an astonished haunt to her eyes, which Tor could only grin cheekily. "I would say don't look so shocked, but you hardly express anything. I should start calling you Golem or something…"

Blinking, Momoko simply shook her head before walking ahead of her long-time friend, "Don't push it, Tor."

Softening, Kirin watched Momoko's small form disappear into her massive ER.

Yes, Kirin had seen the look in her eye many a time. She knew Hiruzen Momoko's interior. As her hopeless Trauma patients would slowly embrace death, a cold sort of calm would overtake their bodies and numb their hearts. As they would soon become intimate with Death, it would steal certain vividness from their eyes.

The first day that Kirin met Momoko, she had not seen it.

Each time she looked, her stomach would sink just a little bit.

She had never seen the essence in her mentor's eyes.

She knew she never would.

**/~/**

"Konoha personnel should be arriving within the next hour, Tsunade-sama."

Holding a contented Ton Ton in her arms, Shizune spoke evenly to the prestigious woman's back.

Tsunade had turned to face the great window overlooking the warm village of Konoha, honey-brown eyes narrowed dangerously as she balled her strong fist. "How the hell did this happen, Shizune," came her barely-contained voice, to which Shizune merely shook her head.

"I don't-"

"Hiruzen Momoko knows something."

Swiveling sharply in her char, the blonde woman brought her shaking fist down upon her desk, causing a small fissure to _crack_ loudly atop the surface.

"All personnel evacuated to return immediately, including patients!"

Ridiculous, Tsunade all but shouted, twisting her painted lips angrily. Hiruzen Momoko had proved to be many things, a fool included, but nothing short of intelligent.

_Life-saving care to missing nin… undocumented comings and goings to United Shinobi… Trauma outings…_

Tsunade scrunched her eyes in frustration, "Get me Hoshino Karae, now!"

It was time for Tsunade to receive answers. Namely, what exactly had Hiruzen Momoko become, and what kind of ally she was, if at all?

"I want a full dossier of Hiruzen Momoko on my desk in one hour. I want her contacts, her patients, I want her whole life on my desk now!"

"T-Tsunade-sa-!"

"NOW!" Her bellow silenced poor Shizune, who bowed swiftly before rising and walking briskly from the room.

Her pale fingers lingered on the golden doorknob for a few seconds as she shut the door, letting her dark eyes flutter shut and inhaling a deep breath.

_"I'm going to be a medic, Shizune-san!" _

Who would have thought that that small, dimpled, red-mane of a girl would become one of the world's leading Trauma surgeons, suspect of treason and black-market dealings?

**/~/**

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Kakashi-chan?"

Proffering a quick quirk to her thin lips, Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri lightly trailed her fingers over her unconscious patient's bandages, never lifting her eyes from the cast. Hatake Kakashi did not react to the Iwagakure woman's sharp sense of perception, instead opting to lean in the doorway as he once had, stuffing his hands deeply into his pockets.

"You caught me," a hint of sarcasm lay in his low voice, which caused Muuri's smile to linger as she placed pressure on the patient's shins.

"I build bones for a living. Give me a little credit."

"Aa, domo."

Nishimura Muuri was a slender woman with small, dark eyes and an angular face. Her short, coppery hair hung loosely, just brushing to tips of her shoulders. Her eyes held small crow's feet, signifying her leading a seemingly contented life, and her hands were rough.

Lifting his little green book from his pack, Kakashi casually busied himself as Muuri took up her patient's chart and scribbled unintelligible print.

"What do you want?"

The bright orthopedic surgeon's voice was a dry drawl, to which Kakashi answered within a few moments, "I just wanted to check on Konoha's suspect…"

As the woman turned slightly, Kakashi was able to make out a sardonic curve to her thin lips before she addressed him once more. "You're lucky to remain here under these circumstances, Hatake."

"Aa."

"So tell me what you want."

She ambled lazily towards the silver-haired nin, eyes upturned as she passed him on the way out. Following the Iwagakure medic, Hatake Kakashi kept his book before him, ambling along idly. He followed her dark-green scrubs through a series of hallways as she checked charts and spoke to several medics, all with an easy smile.

Hopping onto the elevator, she merely raised a brow as Kakashi joined her.

As the doors closed, she gave a huff-

"Hiruzen was a patient of yours."

Blinking her dark eyes, Muuri set her gaze on the tall man.

"Yes, she was."

"What for, exactly?"

It took the older Iwa woman a moment before she registered just where the conversation had turned. This is why Konoha's Sharingan no Kakashi had chosen to question her.

"You should know that patient confidentiality does not allow me to speak of such details, Kakashi-chan."

"Aa…"

Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri had a thin, trademark, ambiguous smile. It was a reaction mask, a poker face, and most importantly, Muuri's one social defense. She was a very sharp woman, yet she was a very idle and slack woman when it came to most social matters.

Per usual, Muuri had that dry, thin-lipped simper, but a new glint in her chestnut orbs that Kakashi merely ignored, eyes glued to his novel. Crossing her arms, Muuri sighed dramatically. "You're a difficult man, Kakashi."

"Aa," came his detached, nonchalant utterance.

Blinking at the sudden _ding_ of the elevator, Muuri paused as she stepped out of the elevator, hesitating with one foot in the doorway. Bringing her almost-black eyes to Kakashi's form, she caught his one eye as he suddenly lifted his gaze.

He watched as that cynical nature of Nishimura "Ortho" Muuri's caused the corners of her mouth to upturn harshly one last time.

And as the doors began to close, "She wasn't always left-handed, you know."

**/~/**

Lightly drumming her slim fingers on the medic station counter, Hiruzen Momoko exhaled softly as she glanced at the wall, eyes lingering on the hands of the overhanging clock above.

Slowly closing her dark eyes, Momoko cursed whoever had put her as the one Trauma on duty that night. She shifted to lean more on her left side, letting her eyes scan the various occupants of her section of the ER.

An Iwa nin had been shipped in with several nasty contusions to her stomach, all of which Momoko had easily treated and wrapped nicely. To her left, a difficult Kumogakure nin had been impaled with several kunai to his torso and lower extremities. The red-haired medic was forced to call Kirin Tor in from her slumber, for her Iwagakure resident specialized in the practice of barriers.

Momoko found this most useful in the protection of her patients; also, in her most difficult and bloody surgeries, Kirin's abilities were most helpful in isolating debris and obstructions. Because her underachieving resident had such a knack for protective barriers, Momoko had her set out to create one for each occupied room in the hospital through a series of activated scrolls.

Her mahogany-headed friend had taken a break, mentioning something about bothersome men before heading out Trauma's main exit with her pack of smokes in tow.

Flexing her right hand, Momoko did not bother to conceal the slight roll to her eyes as a certain presence registered-

"It's late, even for you to be lurking."

She couldn't even hear his footsteps as he ambled to lean against the counter beside her, so she did not feel the need to be discreet as she directed her most deadpan expression at none other than Hatake Kakashi.

He seemed refreshed as always, not a slight bag to his clean, handsome face. Merely proffering a smile so cheeky she could see it from below his obtrusive mask, Kakashi rubbed the back of his head carelessly.

"Your office is very cold and bleak."

"The cot is comfortable enough."

"Maa, whatever you say, Momo."

Uttering a small _tch_ in response, Momoko crossed her bony arms and gripped her forearms with her slender fingers. Tearing her gaze away from his face, Momoko turned back to her occupied cots full of slumbering patients, all either drugged so hard they wouldn't be conscious for several hours or sleeping on their own accord. Kakashi, too, turned his eyes to the unconscious Shinobi, but his attention lie elsewhere as he shifted his weight.

_"Hatake-san, look at all this dango! I can eat it ALL. I bet you a sparring session I can!"  
"…I don't doubt it, Hiruzen."  
"Maataku, you're no fun!"  
"Fun is for the dimwitted."  
"…like Obito?"  
"…Aa. Like Obito." _

Subtly craning his neck, Kakashi peered closely at the ruby-haired woman, taking in her delicately braided head to her small, pale wrists- barely noticeable, yet Kakashi would recognize the markings anywhere, lay a faded summoning tattoo. Smaller in size than most Shinobis', it seemed as though it had been scrubbed to the point of fading.

Summonings, however, were permanent.

Yet another questionable aspect of his old friend's life, it seemed.

"I spoke to Muuri-san today."

Although his one eye lay on her expressionless gaze, she remained fixed on her patients' monitors.

"I'm sure."

"She is a very informative woman."

He caught a slight twitch to her brow, and this aroused his unspoken suspicion. It was only when he caught the small, minuscule flexing of her right hand did a sort of dread sweep through his body, and his suspicion was confirmed.

"Momo…"

"I do not remember your personality as indirect, Hatake."

She started on him, casting her deep navy eyes on his form. That voice, hard and hollow, was a constant characteristic of Hiruzen Momoko, but Kakashi could understand who this woman truly was.

_"I will fix this."_

"What is it."

His eye was on her hand, her three mechanical-like fingers, and she did not need him to ask. She did not enjoy the scrutiny that came with his presence, but it was an anticipated, unfortunate facet of the silver-haired nin's personality. Shifting to a subtle, defensive position, Momoko tightened her grip on her forearms to the point of stress.

She felt 'The Pit.'

"Do you remember the pain?"

It was a legitimate question that Momoko instantly regretted and caused the Jōnin to stir.

Although some part of her wanted him to remember, to remember what it was like before his _beautiful_ life had been spared, the medicine in her chimed that no one should feel that kind-

"No, I don't."

She faltered physically.

His words knocked the wind from her, and in that moment, what Hatake Kakashi saw in her was a raw shock that cut clean through her heart.

Kakashi hadn't been there long, days at most, but in that time Momoko had not shown much. She had moments where the man thought he could see straight through her, like a ghost, and others where she was as muddled as the mud that had destroyed that village below.

This moment, however, revealed how broken of a human being she really was.

He did not move towards Hiruzen Momoko as she stood trembling in her astonishment, nor did he flinch when her dark eyes glossed with an unmistakable shine. Her throat had tightened beyond the point of speech, and this caused Momoko to slowly turn her back to her patients and place her small hands upon the starch-white counter-top.

He saw her scarred fingers scrunch, though not as tight as her unmarred digits, against the hard surface. Her gaze, unwavering, lie on the wall opposite of the two. Her hitai-ate felt tight around her thigh- mocking, screaming-

"It is good, that you do not. Most trauma victims do not remember their accidents. It is good. They block it out, preventing psychological trauma…"

Kakashi knew what was happening.

Her speech was methodical; she was speaking about trauma like she was reading it from a scroll. She was precise, she was exact, and she was losing it. He did not speak as she continued on, for minutes it seemed she spoke without hesitance, until-

"You lost your fingers in the explosion. You also lost most of your body's blood. There was a hole in your body, right," here she placed her hand above her flat belly, eyes glazed," right here… there was just a… a hole. I could see the ground under you. But your hand… it looked like a bloody stump- you just had three missing stubs and there was so much blood and you just- you just had a hole… a wide hole-! Hatake Kakashi, our gifted, talented-!"

Here, Hiruzen Momoko lifted her shirt and turned to the cause of her trauma, fingers trembling as she gripped the red scrubs.

"Look at it- a fucking hole!"

There, just above her belly button, lay a faint, oval scar with a jagged shape. Kakashi kept his eye on the cracked, red-headed girl-

"I remember it all."

Her glazed eyes seemed to falter, and slowly did she release her grip on her shirt, allowing the scrunched and wrinkled material to fall in its rightful place. Her right hand was still shaking as she allowed herself to turn back to her patients, jaw trembling as she silently choked-

"Why did you save me, Hiruzen."

She just stared ahead, eyes still.

"Why did I do it?"

Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, but she managed to slowly shift into her normal demeanor. However, as Momoko pushed herself off the counter, the silver-haired ninja managed to catch her shaking fist before it buried itself square in his jaw. He felt her tremble as she pushed forward, his gloved fist tightening around her seemingly tiny hand.

The rage in her dark pools was overwhelming.

Black eye widening, Hatake Kakashi faltered- this was not his very first mistake when it came to Hiruzen Momoko; it was very grave nonetheless.

For his hesitance caused her to overcome his grasp, and she managed to bury her tiny, shaking fist straight in his gut-

_-Poof._

His clone disappeared in a small, violent cloud of smoke, causing Momoko to slowly, mechanically, turn her head in the direction of his body, feet away, wary.

She locked her gaze his, and although she did not see an ounce of hostility, she narrowed her dark blue orbs at Hatake Kakashi.

_"I will fix you."_

Back then, Momoko cherished him. His presence made her happy, giddy almost, and she enjoyed his cool sort of calm. She respected him; she thought highly of her friend, Hatake Kakashi. She wanted the best for him.

"Momoko?"

Tripping through Trauma's doors, Kirin Tor furrowed her brows at the two Shinobi before her. Momoko's eyes were as fiery as her hair, and the distance between her and Hatake Kakashi had the Iwa kunoichi confused.

She had only been gone for ten minutes…

"Get out of my ER, Hatake."

Her words were stone, as though she had thrown them at his feet and expected him to scoop them up graciously. Animosity burned within her gaze, and this caused Kakashi to sigh before bringing his hands up to perform the signs-

"Be sure to include this in your report to _Hokage-sama_."

She all but spat Tsunade's title before he disappeared in another small _poof_-

"What the hell-?"

"Go to bed, Kirin. You have tomorrow morning."

Green eyes fell before the younger woman stamped her foot, "Shit."

Rolling her shoulders to soothe her tired muscles, Kirin Tor ambled lazily to the hallway, dragging her feet in honor of the late hour.

She trudged away from her livid boss, making a way to the on-call room-

"She's pissed."

Idly passing Hatake Kakashi's silent form against the wall a ways away, Kirin swatted tiredly in his direction. Her lids fell over her green eyes, exhausted.

"What did you do, sheesh!"

Still, Konoha's Copycat Ninja did not answer, and this caused Kirin to scoff scornfully at him, though it came out more as a small gurgle of exhaustion. Disappearing into the on-call room, the door shut with a small click behind her.

Lifting his gaze from the tiled floor, his eyes trailed back to the Emergency Room, where he heard the faint sound of wheels turning, gurneys being rearranged-

"Let's get to an OR before he turns septic-!"

Her steady, commanding voice had returned to normal, and he even caught a glimpse of her burgundy hair before she disappeared yet again down another set of corridors with two residents in tow.

Kakashi was perceptive enough to know something deep inside Momoko was off. He understood her post-traumatic stress, but vaguely wondered if she did. The look in her eye, however, seemed much more driven, and much more aggrieved.

_"Why did you save me, Hiruzen."_

Grief had flooded her; hindsight enlightened him. His failure to remember the pain of what had happened struck something deep inside her, because- Hatake Kakashi realized with a sense of dread- that pain solely shaped who she had become.

He had forgotten.

"Hiruzen-san?"

"Hiruzen-dono?!"

"…dono!"

His feet had started moving before his mind registered, at such an hour. He merely had another corner to turn-

The scene before him had even Hatake Kakashi momentarily stunned. Blood stained the stark-white floor, dripping from the man on the stained gurney. The two residents, a Kirigakure medic and a Konohagakure medic, lay motionless, jaws slack against the hard, tiled floor.

And Fujimoto "Cardio" Eito grasping an unconscious Hiruzen "Trauma" Momoko, hands emanating a dark, brackish hue above the surgeon's bloodstained scrubs, directly above her heart.

His brown, bloodshot eyes were wide with shock, his hands beginning to tremble over the Trauma Head's heart, grasping her for some sort of balance-

"I had to sedate her…"

Hatake Kakashi's single eye swiftly surveyed the hall, once again soaking in the bodies, the blood, the eerie, pallid shade to Momoko's skin and Fujimoto lifting his cupped hand from her heart, balling it into a fist-

"She killed them."


End file.
